Asian Games: India to take part in four events as Hearthstone dropped from the programme

A 15-member Indian team will participate in DOTA 2, FIFA Online 4, League of Legends, and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition disciplines of Esports at the Hangzhou Asian Games in September-October this year.

Esports will be making its debut as a medal sport in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou and this week the Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) introduced the official events and the competition mechanism for the Esports Programme at the Games, which will be held from September 23-October 8.

Of the Indian contingent, Charanjot Singh and Karman Singh Tikka will participate in FIFA Online 4; Mayank Prajapati and Ayan Biswas will be in contention in Street Fighter V: Champion Edition; Akshaj Shenoy (captain), Samarth Arvind Trivedi, Mihir Ranjan, Aditya Selvaraj, Aakash Shandilya, and Sanindhya Malik will represent the country in League of Legends while Darshan (captain), Krish, Abhishek, Ketan, and Shubham will take part in DOTA 2, the Esports Federation of India informed in a release on Friday.

Earlier, the Esports Federation of India had selected Shikhar Choudhary and Karthik Varma to represent the country in Hearthstone, which was originally a part of the Asian Games but was removed from the Asian Games Esports programme in March.

Moreover, India will have no representative in sports disciplines Arena of Valor and PUBG Mobile Asian Games Version as they are banned in India while the title Dream Three Kingdoms 2 is not available in the country.

India won a bronze medal in the 2018 edition of the Asian Games played in Indonesia, with Tirth Mishra finishing third in Hearthstone, the category now removed from the programme.

Expressing his thoughts on the official introduction of Esports titles and competition mechanism at the 19th Asian Games, Lokesh Suji, Director, the Esports Federation of India & Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF), said, "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 centre 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 was quoted as saying in a release. (IANS/NS)