Esports now an official medal sport in Asian Games

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Esports has been officially named under the category of medal sports and will no longer be an exhibition once the 2022 Asian Games begin.

During the 2018 Asian Games held in Indonesia, esports was previously set as an exhibition and was not listed as an official sport under the event rules.

The inclusion of esports in the Asian Games was after the sport’s ratification in the 39th Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) General Assembly held in Muscat, Oman.

“I hope that electronic sports will add value to the Asian Games and I am sure it will in the future, during the Asian Games 2022 and even beyond that,” said Haider Farman, Asian Games Director of the OCA.

After breakdancing’s Olympic debut in the Paris games, the birth of esports as an official category will be an indication of an exciting future in sports.

“The OCA has pioneered the development and inclusion of e-sports in international multi-sport games, and recognized its broad appeal to a younger generation in a changing sports world,” said the OCA.

Just before the OCA took action regarding esports matters, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach already addressed the issue as he wrote: “We encourage all our stakeholders to ‘consider how to govern electronic and virtual forms of their sport and explore opportunities with game publishers.”