Esports is a sport recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). We won a medal in Asian Games’2018 and esports will be a medal sport in Asian Games’22. It’s only in India that persons confuse esports with fantasy, rummy, teen patti, RMG, on the internet gaming, betting, and gambling this confusion is detrimental to the development of our sport. For the motives improved recognized to them, we wonder, why they want to be even closely linked, connected, and or linked with esports. Just like any other sport, esports is also a sport, would you ever hyperlink these ‘igaming” apps with sports like Kabbadi, Badminton, or cricket? It’s so demeaning for our esports athletes to be looked upon or compared with persons who are involved in these igaming apps.
Electronic Sports (esports) are organized “video game” competitions on the internet and/or offline for video game genres of conventional sports (football, cricket, and so on.), multiplayer on the internet battle arena (MOBA), actual-time tactic (RTS), fighting & 1st-individual-shooter (FPS) tournaments that provide each live broadcasts of the competitors and money prizes to competitors.
Esports video games are played for competitiveness, exciting & recreation, with sportsmanship, and not for cash even if there is no prize cash, persons will/nonetheless play games like FIFA21, Free Fire, and so on. Esports athlete competes purely on his talent & ability to figure out overall performance/outcome just like any other sport, and not dependent on any luck ‘or’ likelihood. Esports is also device agnostic. In fantasy, the outcome depends on the overall performance of the third individual and you have no manage to have an effect on the overall performance or ability of this third-individual just like horse race betting therefore carries a decent quantity of likelihood. Teen patti, rummy, poker, gambling, betting, on the internet gaming is purely likelihood-based. Largely the sole goal of playing these (igaming) is cash. Also note that competing with each and every other for casual or hyper-casual games is not esports also, if you are casually playing a game of candy crush, fruit ninja against the machine, that is also not esports.
The video games are played by youngsters/youths aged largely from 14-22 years whereas “igaming” the target audience is 26-55 years. Esports is predominantly a physical competitors of speed of reactions on the device, your hand demands sync with your thoughts and should really complement each and every other. Just like any athlete, esports athletes have educated their body and visceral reactions in the competitive atmosphere. Esports includes physical multitasking of 2 or more body components such as fingers/ hand, mouth/speech, eyes/ sight, and ears/sound.
Also study: Mapping policy: We will not have to rely on Google Maps, says Mohandas Pai as govt puts startups on the map
Esports athlete’s abilities like dribbling and throwing a ball as ingrained into the physicality of the sports do demand equivalent deep internalization although creating such moves on video games. Passion, physio-psycho-technical, practice with perspiration & perseverance are the components for a specialist esports athlete, just like any other conventional sports athlete.
The esports neighborhood desires and needs esports to be recognized by the government “as a sport” in India and not to be distantly linked or linked with the fantasy, rummy, poker, gambling, on the internet gaming, RMG activities so that esports/esports athletes can be nurtured just like any sport so that we can win more medals for the nation and make India proud. ESFI got bronze in Asian Games 2018 and we are confident we will make India the powerhouse for esports.
In current instances the government is also opening up for esports, in 2019, SEPC along with ESFI performed an international esports championship below the aegis of the Ministry of Industry & Commerce. This was the Indian Government’s 1st esports championship. Recently on 4th Feb 2021, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports tabled its reply (regrettably due to paucity of time, Hon’ble Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju ji could not study out the replies) in Parliament to the starred concerns that they recognize “e-sports is an emerging platform for the youth population in the country.” and also clarified that “e-sports is different from gaming or igaming and gambling, etc. as former is skill-based while latter are chance-based”.
Lokesh Suji is the Director of Esports Federation of India. Views expressed are the author’s personal.