Meet India's 15-Member Esports Squad Participating in Asian Games 2022

The 19th Asian Games 2022 was originally scheduled to take place from 10th to 25th September 2022, but was later postponed an entire year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Happening in Hangzhou, China, the 19th Asian Games features, for the first time, esports as an official medal event. The Games kicked off on 23rd September and will conclude on 8th October.

The esports program at the Asian Games 2022 includes seven medal events, and two demonstration events in robotics and virtual reality. Tournaments have been scheduled for Arena of Valor, Dota 2, Dream of the Three Kingdoms 2, EA Sports FC, League of Legends, PUBG Mobile, and Street Fighter V. While Hearthstone was originally included, it was later dropped after NetEase ended its licensing agreement in China with Blizzard Entertainment at the start of 2023.

As a member of the South Asian Zone of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), India has participated in the Asian Games since its inception in 1951. This year, apart from sending top athletes and teams to participate in the traditional sports, India is also fielding teams to fight for the wins in various esports titles at the Asian Games 2022.

Asian Games 2022: India Looks to Shine in the Esports program

India named a 15-member esports team to compete at the Asian Games 2022 at the start of the year. Firstly, India is fielding esports teams at the Asian Games 2022 for the following esports titles:

• Street Fighter 5

• EA Sports FC Online (formerly known as FIFA Online 4)

• League of Legends

• Dota 2

India was originally scheduled to compete in Hearthstone also but the event was removed from the esports program in March this year due to licensing issues. Notably, Arena of Valor and PUBG Mobile Asian Games Version remain banned in India while Dream Three Kingdoms 2 is not available in the country. Thus players could not compete in the three other medal events.

Asian Games 2022: India's Squad Participating in Street Fighter 5

There will be a total of 15 nations competing in Street Fighter V: Champion Edition at the Asian Games 2022 esports event.

Representing India in the Street Fighter 5 event in the 19th Asian Games are esports athletes Mayank "MiKeYROG" Prajapati and Ayan "AYAN01" Biswas. The duo made it to Hangzhou by winning the National Esports Championships (NESC) organised by the Esports Federation of India (ESFI).

Prajapati’s early achievements include winning the Best of the Best tournament for Nodwin in 2015 and finishing in the top 16 in Intel Qualifiers for Southeast Asian Countries. Apart from this, Prajapati has picked up several achievements through the years.

Biswas, meanwhile, has also numerous achievements in this title. He won the Dew Arena and Dreamhack Mumbai in 2018, followed by a sweet victory in the India Esports tournament in 2020.

The group stage of the event is scheduled to begin on 26th September and will conclude on 28th September with the grand finals.

India's Esports Team for Asian Games EA Sports FC Online

A total of 21 top EA Sports FC Online teams from the continent will play at the Asian Games 2022. Charanjot Singh and Karman Singh Tikka will be representing India at the Games for the EA Sports FC Online event.

Charanjot Singh was undefeated at the Asian Games 2023 FIFA Online 4 seeding event for the South Asian countries where he beat players from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in a best-of-three format. Likewise, Karman Singh Tikka aka tikkatown secured fifth position at the seeding event.

Both players qualified for the Asian Games by reaching the finals of the NESC by ESFI.

Notably, the EA Sports FC Online qualification is scheduled to kick off on 24th September with the grand final on 27th September.

League of Legends Indian Squad for 19th Asian Games

League of Legends, one of the most popular 5vs5 MOBA games in the world, is one of the star attractions at Hangzhou. Representing India is a six-member League of Legends team:

• Akshaj "Kai" Shenoy (Captain)

• Samarth Arvind "CrankO" Trivedi

• Mihir "Lotus" Ranjan

• Sanindhya "Deadcorp" Malik

• Aakash "Infi" Shandilya

• Aditya "Krow" Selvaraj

Notably, the six esports athletes qualified for the Asian Games 2022 by winning the NESC organized by the ESFI. Following this, the team had an unbeaten run at the League of Legends seeding event, which ensured a favorable seeding for Team India at the main event in Hangzhou.

As a result, Team India will be playing directly in the Quarterfinals in the Knockout Stage in the League of Legends Asian Games 2022 event.

You can read more about the schedule, scores and other details in this article: League of Legends Asian Games 2022 Event: Teams, Schedule, Results & More.

India's Dota 2 Star Team for Asian Games 2022

Just like League of Legends, Dota 2 is a MOBA that has a major fanbase around the world. India has previously been successful at international tournaments in Dota 2. The Indian Dota 2 team won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Esports Championship 2022 in Birmingham last year.

For Asian Games 2022, India’s five-member Dota 2 team is as follows:

• Darshan "A35" Bata (Captain)

• Ketan "Evil-Ash" Goyal

• Abhishek "Abhi" Yadav

• Shubham "Madness" Goli

• Krish "Krish" Gupta.

The team made the cut for Hangzhou 2023 by winning the NESC just like the other squads did.

Notably, Evil-Ash, Abhi, and Madness were part of India’s five-member team at the Commonwealth Esports Championships 2022.

In the seeding event for Dota 2 for South Asian countries, India placed second only behind Nepal. A total of 17 top Dota 2 teams from the continent will compete at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Notably, the group stage of the Dota 2 event at Asian Games 2022 will kick off on 30th September and will conclude with the grand finals on 2nd October.

If you looking to catch all the esports action at Asian Games 2022 held in 2023, Indian viewers can tune into Sony LIV (Sony Sports Network) on the match dates.

With gaming and esports slowly becoming mainstream in India, clinching medals and other accolades at such a prestigious event such as the Asian Games 2022 will set the country up for successes in the future in the realm of esports.