Team Blitz India
FOR Darshan Bata, Krish Gupta, Ketan Goyal, Shubham Goli and Samarth Trivedi, it is time for celebration. These esports players have recently been rewarded with Rs 10 lakh each by the Directorate of Sports and Youth Services of the Government of Maharashtra. It was the victory as part of the DOTA 2 team and the League of Legends in Asian Games 2022 that has won the laurels for the players now.
This marks the first time that an Indian state government has felicitated esports players alongside traditional sports athletes for a major tournament. After being a demonstration sport at the 2018 edition, esports was first featured as a medal event at Asian Games 2022. A total of 476 esports players from 30 countries competed in seven medal events in Hangzhou, China.
The Esports Federation of India (ESFI) organised online and open-forall qualifiers to select the country’s representatives who participated in four titles: Dota 2, EASports FC, League of Legends, and Street Fighter 5.
The rewards by the Maharashtra Government signal another step towards the recognition of competitive gaming as a legitimate sport in India, solidifying the progress made by the country’s esports industry in recent years.
In December 2022, the Indian government officially recognised esports as a multi-sport event. Moreover, notable titles Free Fire and BGMI (PUBG Mobile) re-entered the Indian market last year, while Honor of Kings announced its entry in March. Most recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met some of the country’s prominent esports and gaming stakeholders to discuss industry developments.
