Asian Games
\nMedals will be up for grabs for first time in seven different games in Hangzhou
\nNEW DELHI:
\nESports\u2019 debut as a medal event at the Asian Games starting this week will change attitudes and be a major step towards Olympic recognition at last, gamers and experts say.
\nGaming was a demonstration sport at the 2018 Asian Games but gold medals will be up for grabs this time in Hangzhou in seven different games.
\nPlayers will battle in EA Sports FC, PUBG Mobile, Arena of Valor, Dota 2, League of Legends, Dream Three Kingdoms 2 and Street Fighter V.
\nFor Mayank Prajapati, India\u2019s medal hope in the Street Fighter beat\u2019em up game, the Asian Games opening on Saturday will mark how far he and eSports have come.
\nHe recalled how his father would beat him for sneaking off to play video games.
\n\u201cI played my first game in the late 1990s at an arcade machine at a market with the two rupees I had,\u201d the 33-year-old said.
\n\u201cIt was my first exposure with Street Fighter and I fell in love with the game.
\n\u201cI got addicted and often lied to my parents, saying \u2018I am going for tuition\u2019, but spent hours playing.\u201d
\nPrajapati, a 3D designer, recalled how his father once tracked him down out playing video games at night, surrounded by half a dozen cheering children.
\n\u201cI got a lot of scolding… I think I got beaten up,\u201d laughed Prajapati, himself now a father to a two-year-old boy. Prajapati\u2019s tale is a familiar one among gamers from different countries.
\nKim Gwan-woo, who will represent South Korea in Street Fighter V, told AFP in Seoul: \u201cMy parents absolutely hated me playing video games.\u201d
\nThey remain \u201cdubious\u201d about him going to the Asian Games, he said, but added: \u201cI think they will be very happy if I actually win a medal.\u201d
\nSouth Korea, together with hosts China, are expected to be the dominant force in eSports at the Games.
\nESports events at the Games are expected to play out to bumper crowds at the futuristic-looking China Hangzhou Esports Centre \u2013 a far cry from players slinking off to dingy arcades against their parents\u2019 wishes.
\nIts inclusion at the Games is a milestone for eSports in its quest for recognition as a \u201creal\u201d sport, said Professor Kang of Shingu College, who was one of the first generation of Korean professional gamers under the alias \u201cH.O.T Forever\u201d.
\n\u201cWhen I was a player in the late 1990s the initial reaction was, \u2018Why is a video game on TV?\u2019\u201d Kang told AFP.
\n\u201cBut with the hard work of the players and staff, I think we\u2019re about 90 percent there in becoming a real sport,\u201d he added.
\nLokesh Suji, vice-president of the Asian Electronic Sports Federation, called the Asian Games a significant step towards the ultimate goal.
\n\u201cThe dream will eventually be realised once it gets included into the Olympics as a fully fledged medal sport,\u201d said Suji, also director of the Esports Federation of India.
\nThat does not look like happening in the near future, certainly not in time for next year\u2019s Paris Olympics.
\nThe International Olympic Committee is desperate to attract younger audiences, hence there will be breakdancing for the first time at the Games next year.
\nBut even though the IOC officially recognised eSports as a sport in 2017, there is currently no plan to include video games in the Olympic programme.
\nOne stumbling block is the type of games which would be included because the promotion of violence goes against Olympic values, so that immediately rules out some popular eSports titles.
\nThe Olympic dream may still be out of reach, but gamers say that eSports at the Asian Games will result in more fans, players and recognition.
\nSanindhiya Malik, 21, who is in the Indian team for the League of Legends, used to pretend to be studying on his computer when in actual fact he was competing online.
\n\u201cSometimes during a tournament I had to hide and play from my parents so that they didn\u2019t know,\u201d Malik said.
\n\u201cBut after I graduated to representing India, my parents have noticed the recognition that this game can give me.
\n\u201cEven my relatives and friends who earlier questioned my game time have congratulated me \u2013 and it feels good.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Asian Games Medals will be up for grabs for first time in seven different games in Hangzhou NEW DELHI: ESports\u2019 debut as a medal event at the Asian Games starting this week will change attitudes and be a major step towards Olympic recognition at last, gamers and experts say. Gaming was a demonstration sport at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-356856","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n