India’s Esports team concluded its impressive run at the Asian Games 2022, Hangzhou, China, where Esports made its debut as an official medal sport. The Indian Esports contingent headed to China competed in four out of seven titles: DOTA 2, League of Legends, EA Sports FC Online (formerly branded as FIFA Online 4), and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition.
The journey of the Indian athletes came to an end on Friday, 29 September 2023, with the DOTA 2 roster exiting the tournament in the Group Stage of the Asian Games 2022’s Medal event. Here’s everything about what transpired at the Asian Games 2022 during India’s first-ever appearance at the multi-sport event.
Indian Esports Contingent’s Journey At The Asian Games 2022
The DOTA 2 squad, led by Darshan Bata (A35) and consisting of Krish Gupta (Krish-), Abhishek Yadav (Abhi-), Ketan Goyal (Evil-Ash), and Shubham Goli (Madness), lost 0-1 to Kyrgyzstan and 0-1 to the Philippines in the group stage and exited the tournament.
The League of Legends team, captained by Akshaj Shenoy (Kai) and featuring Samarth Arvind Trivedi (CrankO), Mihir Ranjan (Lotus), Sanindhya Malik (Deadcorp), Aakash Shandilya (Infi), Aditya Selvaraj (Krow), finished fifth after a close 0-2 loss to Vietnam in the quarter-finals.
The EA Sports FC Online player, Charanjot Singh, secured the 9th place among 36 top players from the continent. He started with a 0-2 loss to China’s Liu Jiacheng in the Round of 32. Still, he recovered with three wins against Aristorenas Jorrel of the Philippines, Alrowaihi RKM of Bahrain, and Yessentayev Olzhas of Kazakhstan in the Losers Bracket Round 1, 2, and 3.
He lost again to Liu Jiacheng of China by 0-2 in the Losers Bracket Round 4. His teammate Karman Singh was eliminated after a 1-2 loss to Aldhafiri Meshari of Kuwait in the Losers Bracket Round 2.
India’s Ayan Biswas made it to the Top 16 of Street Fighter V: Champion Edition at the Asian Games 2022. He won his first match against Nguyen Khanh Hung Chau from Vietnam but lost to Alrayfal Abdulrahman Salem A from Saudi Arabia. He bounced back by defeating Nguyen again but was eliminated by Yeh Man Ho from Hong Kong.
His teammate, Mayank Prajapati, faced Rajikhan Talal Fuad T from Saudi Arabia in his first match and lost by a narrow margin. He then lost to Al-Mannai Abdulla from Qatar and was out of the tournament.
According to Mr. Lokesh Suji, Director of Esports Federation of India and Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF),
“We are proud of our Esports athletes’ resolute efforts and gritty performances at the Asian Games 2022. Each and every athlete from the contingent is an inspiration for India’s budding Esports community that wants to represent their country in Esports. This tournament has provided an invaluable experience and motivation for our Esports athletes to build upon and enhance their gameplay for the future.”
He added saying,
“Despite the competition being fierce, our League of Legends team secured a remarkable fifth-place finish, while Charanjot Singh achieved a commendable ninth place among the continent’s top EA Sports FC Online athletes. We are now eagerly anticipating the Asian Games 2026, where Esports will once again be an official medal sport, and our full-strength Indian contingent will give their all in pursuit of glory.”
Esports was an official medal sport for the first time at the Asian Games 2022. There were seven titles and 476 athletes from 30 countries competing for gold medals.
