IOC confirms Singapore as host of first Olympic Esports week

As Esports is already going to make its debut at the Asian Games 2022 as a proper medal event next year and the Indian DOTA 2 team clinched the bronze medal at the first-ever Commonwealth Esports Championship 2022 in Birmingham. The announcement marks the next major step in supporting the development of virtual sports within the Olympic Movement and engaging further with competitive gamers.

Esports is going to make its debut at the Asian Games 2022 as a proper medal event, earlier in 2018 it was there as a demonstration title. The Asian Games 2022, originally scheduled for September this year, will now be held from 23rd September to 8th October 2023. Recently, The Indian DOTA 2 team produced a power-packed performance to clinch the bronze medal at the first-ever Commonwealth Esports Championship 2022 in Birmingham. In regard to this recent news, this cleared the air that Esports must not be clubbed under the umbrella term "Gaming".

Lokesh Suji, Director of the Esports Federation of India and Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF) said " After Esports being proposed as an official medal sport of AIMAG 2025, this news further fortifies the dawn of Esports as a mainstream sport in international multi-sport events. The combined efforts of numerous major international organizations along with the International Olympics Council (IOC) are bearing fruit for the global Esports community and giving them a platform to make their country proud by bringing laurels on the international stage. IOC, the apex body of sports continuing its engagement with esports is proof of the potential of esports and it is a phenomenon that cannot be ignored. We hope that Esports gets official recognition as a sport in India just like other countries as it will enable us to go full throttle and scale great heights in video gaming. Soon enough, every individual in the country will seek to be involved in this video gaming revolution and the day is not far when esports will also get included as a medal sport in Olympics just like Asian Games." Rohit Jagasia, Founder and CEO of Revenant Esports said "The entire Esports fraternity will be rejoicing with this welcome news which has certainly been a result of the gaming community's collective efforts spanning over the last few years. The inaugural edition of the Olympics Esports Week is a testament to global bodies realizing the value of gaming and giving it the recognition that it deserves. With the gaming industry in India growing at such a rapid pace and accumulating never seen before numbers in terms of revenue we can hopefully expect India to be one of the countries that have officially recognized Esports as a sport soon. It is about time that gaming gets included as an official medal sport at all major multi-sport events and it will be an immense pleasure to see India become a dominant force in it."

Animesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of 8bit Creatives, India's leading esports consulting and talent agency explained "While the Esports community is wondering about the next and the best possible steps to integrate Esports into the Olympics, as well as other multi-sports global events, this inaugural edition of the Olympic Esports Week, will surely play a crucial role in establishing esports /virtual sports as an integral part of the sporting universe. With International Olympic Committee (IOC) taking this concrete initiative it is imperative that we as the esports community start having the right dialogues with the stakeholders that matter. I must add that we are fortunate to experience the change, which also means it is our responsibility to create a strong and unified voice for the Indian Esports community going forward." Esports (Electronic sports) is a competitive sport where esports athletes use their physical and mental abilities to compete in certain genres of video games in a virtual, electronic environment. (ANI)

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