The Rising Participation of Indian E-sports Community in Asian Games 2023

Introduction

E-sports is a minimized terminology for electronic sports, that relates to ferocious video games at a professional level. It consists of an organised multiplayer video game duel between professional players or a team, often with bystanders and excellent pool prices. Esports comprises a broad spectrum of video game genres, including first-person shooter(FPS), multiplayer online battles arenas(MOBAs), real-time strategy(RTS), violating games, Sports simulation, and many more.

E-Sports Tournament

Equivalent to Traditional gaming, Esports events are held in arenas and stadiums or streamed live on various online platforms, wherein players compete individually or as a team. These showdowns can take tournaments, leagues, and one-off exhibiting game matches. Esports tournaments are often live-streamed on various social media platforms such as Twitter, youtube the primary freeway resource to access previous streams, allowing fans worldwide to access and enjoy the games actively.

Esports has gained immense popularity over 2 decades with millions of views, participation, and a dedicated fan base. Professional Esports players are treated as gaming legends or celebrities within the gaming community and can earn generous amounts through sponsorship, brand, advertisement, and via winnings. MsjorEpsorts events, such as the League of Legends world championship, the international (Dota2), and the Fortnite world cup, draw a wide range of viewership, offer a good amount of pool prices, and even reach up to millions. Esports has drawn many investments from traditional sports organisations, media, and tech companies. Moreover, it has led to mainstream platform industries. The growth in Esports has led to the development of professional teams, coaches, analysts, and even dedicated arenas.

Asian Games

In Esports, Asian Games perform a vital role in every aspect as it regards a multi-sport event held every four years, bringing up athletes together from various parts of Asia under one platform, also known as “Asiad”.  It is acknowledged by the International Olympic Committee(IOC) and is also considered the world’s second-largest multi-sport gaming platform after the Olympic games.

The history of Asian games has led to the growth Esports community among Asian nations. Asian Games were first held in 1951 in New Delhi, India. Since then, it has been organised by the Olympic Council of Asia, it promotes unity, friendship, and engaging platforms among Asian nations. Asian Games feature both Olympic and non- olympic on board spectrum.

Participants participating in the Asian Games must go through the National Olympic Committee(NOCs)and the Olympic Council of Asia(OCA). The general steps to participate in Asian Games are as follows:

1. National Qualification: The first and foremost step for the participant is national qualification. The athletes should qualify by criteria set by their National Olympic Committee (NOCs). Each NOC has established its own qualification level, which may include trials and performance consistency standards. Participating Athletes need to qualify for their respective Esport and specifically need to fulfil their requirements by setting a standard performance depicted by their NOCs.
2. National Selection: Once the qualifying process has been done, the NOC selection process begins. It selects the athletes to represent their own country at the Asian Games. Selection processes are based on their performance, rankings, persistency, and some predefined criteria of NOC. The NOC will then have a call for the final selected teams of players who will be a part of the respective teams to represent their country at the Asian Games.
3. National Olympic Committee Registration(NOC reg): After the selection process, the NOC then registers the team of athletes in the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). This involves athletes’ information that includes personal information documentation, which includes passports, legal documents, and some relevant paperwork. The NOC handles the registration process required and compliance with OCA.
4. Pre-event Coaching and Dril: Participating Athletes go through immersive concentration and drill in order to lead up Asian Games. This process includes working up coaches on their strategic planning, trainer, and supportive staff to endorse their skills, build a sense of confidence, and encourage the athletes this will not only enhance their performance but also boost their confidence. They participate in national training camps or any other competition as a practice.
5. Participation in Asian Games: The pre-event process ends as the selected participating athletes, along with their coaches, officials, and supporters, start to travel to the allocated host game city for the Asian Games. The team of athletes gets separated for their respective board games. They compete in their respective esports category against the athletes in Asian Games. The Asian Games lasts up to several weeks, during which participants continue to unlock their serials to achievement. Represent the pride of their nation.

The Indian Esports Community has evolutionary growth over the years, several organisations came into existence to support and develop the Esports industry. The ESFI, an acronym of the Esports Federation of India, is a non-profit organisation actively endorsing esports in India.

The ESFI has organised a national-level esports tournament in which athletes are selected and sent to represent India in tournaments such as Asian Games. The Esports community of India has been upheld with government support and authorities. The ESFI has been involved in marking up standards, values, and protocols for esports competitions in India. Their work is profound to be legal such as athlete’s contracts, tournament guidelines, and anti-doping policies. The organisation’s goal is to foster talent by providing them with a platform for Indian esports players and creating opportunities for them to compete at the global level.

Recently, for Asian Esports, 15 members from India competed in their respective games. The names and their teams are as follows for Asian Games 2023:

●     FIFA Online 4: Charanjot Singh and Karman Singh Tikka

●     Street Fighter V: Champion Edition: Mayank Prajapati and Ayan Biswas

●     League of Legends: Akshaj Shenoy (captain), Samarth Arvind Trivedi, Mihir Ranjan, Aditya Selvaraj, Aakash Shandilya and Sanindhya Malik

●     DOTA 2: Darshan (captain), Krish, Abhishek Yadav, Ketan Goyal, and Shubham Goli

In conclusion, Esports is a striving world esports it consists of conducting tournaments where skilled, talented players compete in various video game genres. Over the years, Esports has garnered notoriety worldwide, attracting millions of fans and fantastic pool prices. Major Events are held in arenas and stadiums in hosted cities and streamlined on various social media platforms. The International Olympic Committee recognises the Asian Games as a multi-sport event that unites athletes from Asia to compete in various tournaments in their respective genres. The ESFI organises and selects players and sends them to competitions to represent India at Asian Games.ESFI plays a vital role in the Indian Esports community, providing a platform for young talented minds.

Reference:

Asian Games 2023: India name 15-member esports team – full squad

https://olympics.com/en/news/asian-games-2022-esports-india-squad-team

                                              -Sakshi Ankush Dhanawade, Intern

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