Asian Games 2023: A Glance at India’s Esports Outfit

Indian gamers will look to cement a position in the world of esports at the Asian Games, the debut season of esports.

In the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta, esports was part of the event as a demonstration title. However, for the upcoming Asian Games, which are scheduled to begin in September, India has sent an eighteen-member contingent to the host nation’s city of Hangzhou.

In total, the Asian Games will feature seven esports events: Arena of Valor, Dota 2, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, FIFA Online 4, League of Legends, Peace Elite Asian Games Version, and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. However, the Indian esports contingent will only participate in Street Fighter V, FIFA Online 4, League of Legends, and Dota 2.

FIFA Online 4

FIFA, one of the most played video games in the world, will be played in a best-of-three format across all stages of the Asian Games. The event will begin on September 24, with the final scheduled for September 27. From India, the duo of Charanjot Singh and Karman Singh Tikka will take on other Asian athletes.

Last month, Singh was the top-seeded player from South Asia, with huge wins against Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. In the same event, Tikka was the fifth-seeded player.

League of Legends

While FIFA is a single player versus player game, League of Legends is a team-based game. The result in the group stage will be determined via a single match, whereas in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final, the teams will take part in a best-of-three round. Each unit comprises five members, with one of them acting as a substitute.

From India, Akshaj Shenoy will lead the team of Samarth Arvind Trivedi, Mihir Ranjan, Aditya Selvaraj, Aakash Shandilya, and Sanindhya Malik. For the record, in the gaming circuit, Shenoy is known as Kai and is one of the leading gamers in Asia.

League of Legends will be played between September 25 and September 29.

Street Fighter V: Champions Edition

Street Fighter V: Champions Edition will be played between September 26 and September 28. The video game is a one-on-one fighter game similar to the famous Tekken and Mortal Kombat. In the Asian Games, all the results of the matches will be determined via a best-of-three round.

From India, Mayank Prajapati and Ayan Biswas will fight in the event. For the unversed souls, Prajapati is a veteran Street Fighter gamer who recently won the National Esports Championship 2023.

DOTA 2

Defense of the Ancients, or DOTA 2, is a team-based strategy game in which one team has to destroy the core ancient structure of the opponent team. Whoever completes the objective first wins the game. Given it is a team-based game, India has sent five players, such as Krish Gupta, Abhishek Yadav, Ketan Goyal, Shubham Goli, and Darshan Bata, in the skipper’s role.

The event will be conducted between September 29 and October 2. Group stage games will be a one-game affair, whereas the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final of the event will be determined via best-of-three results.

Darshan Bata is one of the finest players in the DOTA world, having won the ESL India Premiership Fall Masters twice, along with two Taiwanese Excellence Gaming Cups and the IGE South Asia Cup.