The Esports Federation of India (ESFI) has announced a strong 18-member Indian contingent for the upcoming 2022 Asian Games where Esports will be making a debut as a medal sport.
Following eight days of high-voltage competition and nail-biting action in the ESFI's National Esports Championship 2022 (NESC '22), the winners have been selected to represent the country at the prestigious continental tournament, scheduled in Hangzhou, China from September 10-25.
The NESC '22 saw more than 200 esports athletes from across the country battling it out virtually in the five popular Esports titles--DOTA2, Hearthstone, FIFA22, Street Fighter V and League of Legends. The runners-up of single-player titles--FIFA22, Street Fighter V and Hearthstone--will also be part of the Indian contingent.
"We are delighted with the energy of the national qualifiers. All the esports athletes gave everything to earn themselves a chance to represent the country. It's great to see high-quality competition for each position. I congratulate all the athletes and wish them good luck for their preparations for the upcoming Asian Games," said Lokesh Suji, Director ESFI and VP-Asian Esports Federation in a statement.
"We conducted NESC '22 in a double-elimination format in order to provide equal opportunity to each player or team. And we are thrilled to pick a strong Indian squad. I believe each of them will make the most of this opportunity and make India proud by bringing laurels to the country," Suji added.
On the final day of the championships, Team Whoops emerged champions in DOTA2 and made the cut into the Indian contingent for the Asiad. A team, comprising veteran athletes like Moin Ejaz (Captain), Krish, Abhishek, Ketan, Darshan and Shubham, notched up a comprehensive 3-0 win against Team Avengers in the best-of-five final.
( With inputs from ANI )
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