The Indian government gave esports a major boost on Tuesday by integrating it into the country’s main sports disciplines.
The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, in the exercise of the powers “conferred by paragraph (3) of Article 77 of the Constitution”, amended the current rules Sports and asked the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Ministry of Sport to include “e-sports as part of multi-sport events”.
There has been a growing demand for esports to be included in the curriculum of multidisciplinary events after it was included as a demonstration sport in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, meaning that medals won in the sport were not counted in the official overall medal tally.
But after the President’s December 23 announcement that the IT Department will be the central agency for matters related to online gaming and the Sports Department needs to include it in its curriculum, it’s like a shot in the arm for esports enthusiasts came poor.
That International Olympic Union (IOC) The popularization of e-sports will also be a priority as Singapore is confirmed to host the inaugural Olympic Esports Week in June next year.
This is the next big step to support the development and integration of virtual sports into the Olympic movement and to continue working with competitive players.
The IOC announced in November this year that Olympic Esports Week would showcase the best of virtual esports – hybrid physical and simulated sports – at the four-day festival from June 22-25, complete with showcases of the latest technologies, panel discussions and educational events and show games.
IOC President Thomas Bach said last month that the first Olympic Esports Week would mark an important milestone “in our quest to support the growth of virtual sports within the Olympic movement.”
The Indian DOTA 2 Team had won bronze at the inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championship in Birmingham in August, beating New Zealand.
The sport will make its debut at the Asian Games, which will be held in Hangzhou, China next year.
Responding to the report of inclusion as a main sport, Lokesh Suji, director of the Esports Federation of India and vice president of the Asian Esports Federation, said the brotherhood’s efforts had finally borne fruit.
“We have constantly worked to establish the difference between eSports and iGaming and finally our efforts have been fulfilled. We welcome this announcement from our government which will open new avenues to attract more investment opportunities in this booming industry.
“From now on, we need to build proper infrastructure, training facilities and coaching for our young eSports athletes. Just a short time before we see eSports put in the same league as cricket, football, basketball, etc. and similar fans with power, size and madness,” said Suji.
