Light at the End of the Tunnel

WORDS BY DONNA AMO

While esports is recognized as an official sport in places like China, Netherlands, the USA, etc., it is still at a nascent stage in India. Now, with the inclusion of esports as an official medal sport in the Asian Games, 2022, and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) recognizing it as an official sport, the future seems bright for the industry and the gaming community. We spoke to Lokesh Suji, Director of Esports Federation of India and the Vice President of Asian Esports Federation, to tell us a bit more on what awaits the eager esports players in India.

HOW CAN ESPORTS EXPAND ITS BASE IN INDIA?

The first thing needed for esports to grow in India is to have a correct understanding on the subject by all stakeholders including government, media, VCs, brand, etc. The recognition of esports by the Sports Ministry will also help in building the confidence of parents, as many of our esports athletes are between the ages of 14-20 years and their parents are still skeptical about it.

Unlike traditional sports, esports still needs to be developed in the country and it will need a lot of patience and investment. It is a blank slate as of now and needs to be developed in a structured way so that we can make India the next powerhouse of esports.

WHAT IS ESFI DOING TO ATTRACT PLAYERS INTO THE ESPORTS INDUSTRY?

ESFI is a sports federation and plays the same role which BCCI plays in cricket. Our core objective is to grow esports like any other sport. ESFI brings together all the stakeholders of the esports ecosystem cohesively. We give opportunities for budding talent to work at the ESFI’s events while

giving them training and experience.

Laying down the foundations and guidelines of fair play, ensuring gender parity along with the well-being of our athletes, training, grass-root programs, etc., there is so much we have in our plans, and we’re just getting started. We would also like to work with Indian video game developers to build innovative online multiplayer games. Games like HitWicket, Scarfall, WCC or mythology-based games like Raji which are all homegrown products have a great opportunity to establish their presence.

RECENTLY THE INDIAN OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION (IOA) ANNOUNCED THAT IT IS READY TO RECOGNIZE ESPORTS AS AN OFFICIAL SPORT. HOW WILL THAT BENEFIT PLAYERS?

The biggest benefit of sports categorization will be getting parental approval. Our athletes have a short shelf-life and peak at the age of 15-19. It will smoothen the process of our talented esports athletes to represent at Asian Games, Olympics, etc.

The esports community wants and requires esports to be recognized by the government as a sport. This will lead to a spurt of investments in the sport, from which we can build strong foundations for our athletes, be it in terms of academics, well-being, financial support etc. In nutshell our athletes shall have a well-defined career path just like any other sport.

Unfortunately, as of now playing video games are not looked at positively. Hence, not only IOA (Indian Olympic Association) but the Sports Ministry should also provide recognition just like our neighbouring countries Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and many other nations worldwide.

IN ASIAN GAMES 2018, TIRTH MEHTA WON A BRONZE MEDAL. WHAT EFFORTS ARE BEING MADE TO REPLICATE THAT SUCCESS IN THE UPCOMING ASIAN GAMES 2022?

We’re proud of Tirth Mehta, who made esports history with his win. Once the game titles for Asian Games 2022 are announced, we’ll start getting our teams ready. This time we’re looking to bring home the gold medal. Apart from this, our primary focus is to expand coaching and training for which we are already in talks with some leading agencies. You will also find certified referees this year which will be India’s first.

We have already rolled out our National Rankings Scrims for games like Call of Duty Mobile, Valorant, Free Fire, and we will be adding more games this year. One of our key initiatives has been to introduce the National Ranking System. We have also rolled out female ranking scrims.

ESFI is working closely with the National Esports Federations of South Asia, and will jointly launch the South Asia Championship, which will give our athletes international exposure. We will also be working more closely with the game publishers and developers as they are the key to esports.