New Delhi/ Seoul (AFP)
E-sports’ 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. UAE and Saudi Arabia are among those with strong medal hopes.
Gaming 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.
Players will battle in EA Sports FC, PUBG Mobile, Arena of Valor, Dota 2, League of Legends, Dream Three Kingdoms 2 and Street Fighter V.
For Mayank Prajapati, India’s medal hope in the Street Fighter game, the Asian Games opening on Saturday will mark how far he and e-sports have come.
He recalled how his father would beat him for sneaking off to play video games.
“I played my first game in the late 1990s at an arcade machine at a market with the two rupees I had,” the 33-year-old said. “It was my first exposure with Street Fighter and I fell in love with the game. I got addicted and often lied to my parents,” says Prajapati, a 3D designer and a father now to a two-year-old boy.
Prajapati’s tale is a familiar one among gamers from different countries. Kim Gwan-woo, who will represent South Korea in Street Fighter V, told AFP in Seoul: “My parents absolutely hated me playing video games.”
They remain “dubious” about him going to the Asian Games, he said, but added: “I think they will be very happy if I actually win a medal.”
South Korea, together with hosts China, are a dominant force in e-sports at the Games.
E-sports events at the Games are expected to play out to bumper crowds at the futuristic-looking China Hangzhou E-sports Centre – a far cry from players slinking off to dingy arcades against parents’ wishes.
It is a milestone for e-sports in its quest for recognition as a “real” sport, said Professor Kang of Shingu College, who was one of the first generation of Korean professional gamers under the alias “H.O.T Forever”.
“When I was a player in the late 1990s the initial reaction was, ‘Why is a video game on TV?’” Kang told AFP.
“But with the hard work of the players and staff, I think we’re about 90 percent there in becoming a real sport,” he added.
Lokesh Suji, vice-president of the Asian Electronic Sports Federation, called the Games a significant step towards the ultimate goal – Olympics.
Yet, the Paris Games is an event too soon for the Olympic stage hopefuls. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is desperate to attract younger audiences, hence there will be breakdancing for the first time.
But even though the IOC recognised e-sports as a sport in 2017, there is currently no plan to include video games in the Olympic programme.
One 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 e-sports titles.
Earlier this year, Singapore hosted the first-ever Olympic e-sports week. In a 2020 statement, the IOC President Thomas Bach said: “Yes. It depends on when this day comes.” As the IOC establishes a dedicated e-sports committee, the Asian Games’ inclusion is a significant step towards standardising the sport for a better future.