E-Gamers seek favourable policies to become globally competitive

For the first time, eSports will be a medal sport in Asian Games 2022 and India has a great opportunity to make a splash at this mega sporting event. In fact, like in many sectors including telecoms and banking, India can leapfrog in gaming including eSports. Most players might have missed the PC or console era as it was too expensive or there was lack of infrastructure or connectivity, but what they all have now is a smartphone and are ready to compete globally. The big impediment between the players and global competitive events is the lack of thrust from the government. Now gamers, gaming companies and various stakeholders hope this will change soon.

Roland Landers, CEO All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) says, “eSports will be a medal sport at the 2022 Asian Games and there is a need to put in place a progressive regulatory structure to support the Indian athletes and companies.”

Asian Games 2022 are scheduled to be held at Chinese city of Hangzhou. Medals won in eSports will be counted towards the final medals tally of the countries winning them. In the 2018 edition of the Asian Games, eSports medals were not counted in the overall medals tally of a country. eSports recently received acknowledgment, but it’s still not recognised as a sport by the Ministry of Youth & Sports Affairs or the Indian Olympic Association.