The Hangzhou Asian Games is less than 100 days away now and the Indian esports contingent is gearing up to compete with the best teams from around the world. This year, India will be taking part in four out of seven esports titles. These include DOTA 2, FIFA Online 4, League of Legends, and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition.
One more team of two players was also going to compete in the Hearthstone tournament, but the game itself has been removed now. Due to its removal as a medal event, the players representing India for the game, Shikhar Choudhary and Karthik Varma, will not be taking part in the upcoming Asian Games now.
As of now, India will have 15 players across these four games representing the country. They include –
FIFA22 – Charanjot Singh and Karman Singh Tikka
League of Legends – Team Temple of Kings including Akshaj Shenoy (captain), Samarth Arvind Trivedi, Mihir Ranjan, Aditya Selvaraj, Aakash Shandilya and Sanindhya Malik.
Street Fighter V – Mayank Prajapati and Ayan Biswas
DOTA 2 – Team Whoops including Moin Ejaz (captain), Krish, Abhishek, Ketan, Darshan and Shubham.
The other three games that India is not taking part in are Arena of Valor, PUBG Mobile and Dream Three Kingdoms 2. Arena of Valor was recently released in India, and the teams qualified last year while PUBG Mobile is banned in India and Dream Three Kingdoms 2 is unavailable.
Director of Esports Federation of India, Lokesh Suji said, “Speaking the days we once dreamt of for Indian Esports are now finally here. The range of titles at the Asian Games will not only showcase the diversity of Esports but will also display different aspects of skill, strategy, and teamwork from the athletes to offer an all-round experience for the viewers.”
“Esports taking center stage at the Asian Games is the dawn of a new era for competitive gaming, and we urge the entire country to witness it. Our talented athletes are fully prepared to triumph in this life-changing championship, turning their dreams into reality,” he added as quoted by Sportstar.