The Indian government on Tuesday gave esports a major boost by integrating it into the country’s major sporting disciplines.
The President of India, Draupadi Murmu, in exercise of the powers “conferred by clause (3) of Article 77 of the Constitution”, amended the rules governing e-sports and requested the Ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) and the Ministry of Sports to include “e-Sport in the context of multi-sport events”.
There had been a growing demand for esports to be included in the multi-sport events program following their inclusion in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games as a demonstration sport, which meant that medals won in this sport would not were not counted in the official medal tally.
But following the President’s notification, issued on December 23, that the Ministry of Information Technology will be the nodal agency for issues related to online games and that the Ministry of Sports will have to include it in its program, it is become a shot in the arm for esports enthusiasts.
The International Olympic Association (IOC) is also working to popularize esports, with Singapore confirmed to host the first Olympic esports week in June next year.
This marks the next big step in supporting the development and integration of virtual sports with the Olympic movement and deeper engagement with competitive gamers.
The IOC said in November this year that Olympic Sports Week would showcase the best of virtual sports – hybrid physical and simulated sports – during the four-day festival from June 22-25, including the exhibition of the latest technologies. , round tables, education sessions. and view matches.
IOC President Thomas Bach said last month that the first Olympic Esports Week would mark an important step “in our ambition to support the growth of virtual sports within the Olympic Movement”.
India’s DOTA 2 team clinched bronze at the inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championship held in Birmingham in August by beating New Zealand.
The sport will make its debut at the Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China next year.
Reacting to the report of its inclusion as a main sport, Lokesh Suji, Director of the Indian Esports Federation and Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation, said that the efforts of the fraternity have finally paid off.
“We have constantly worked to differentiate between esports and iGaming, and ultimately our efforts have been successful. We welcome this announcement from our government, which will open new avenues for further investment in this growing industry boom.
“From now on, we will have to build proper infrastructure, training facilities and training for our young esports athletes. There is only a short time left before we see esports being put in the same league as the cricket, football, basketball, etc. and have similar fans power, scale and craze,” Suji said.
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