Game on for Asiad

At Hangzhou, medals were awarded in seven esports events — Arena of Valor Asian Games Version, DOTA 2, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, FIFA Online 4, League of Legends, PUBG and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. While 15 members from India competed in four of those titles, the country’s best result came in League of Legends, where the team reached the quarter-finals.

This time, however, the prospects are brighter as India looks to make its mark on one of esports’ biggest stages. The number of esports medal events has also increased to 11. “For our contingent, we’ll be going up against countries that already have a well-established esports ecosystem. Though they may have the upper hand, we’re going to put in double the effort and catch them off guard. We will surprise them with our improvement, as they have no insight into our scene,” says Akshaj Shenoy (aka Kat Bot), captain of India’s League of Legends team that has already punched its ticket to Aichi-Nagoya. His other team members include Rahul Bisht, Sanidhya Malik, Akash Shandilya, Ahmed Israr and Mihir Rajan.

Bisht (aka Bob) agrees with Shenoy. “The competition is going to be very strong, especially because countries like Korea, China, and other Asian regions have highly developed esports ecosystems. We respect every opponent, but we are not going there just to participate. We are going there to compete,” he says.

“Our team has talented players, and with the right preparation and mindset, we can surprise people. Our immediate goal is to perform at our best, take one match at a time, and make sure we represent India with discipline and pride,” adds Bisht, who is a computer science engineer from BITS Pilani and has worked for multiple companies.

Incidentally, four of this year’s five League of Legends team members, including Shenoy, have played in the last Asiad as well. “Even though we fell short of the main event, the overall experience was positive and enjoyable, as it gave us insight into how other contingents prepare and compete for their respective events, whether physical or electronic,” shares Shenoy.

“The tournament had intense competition, and being our first international event at the time, it showed us where we lacked in terms of coordination, preparation, and experience. It gave us the exposure and reality check we needed on what to do differently to close the gap between us and the other teams,” he adds.

Gearing up for D-Day

Bisht got into esports the same way many players do, by falling in love with the game first. He started as a casual player, enjoying the game with friends, and slowly shifted towards playing seriously. “I kept grinding ranked games, watching professional matches, learning from better players, and constantly improving. Some of my key achievements include playing at a national and international stage for DOTA in 2018 and League of Legends now,” he shares.

Similarly, Shenoy has been playing League of Legends for over 10 years now. “I slowly climbed the ranks and eventually made my own team, which became undefeated in the region while also winning several international events,” says the 24-year-old with a background in HR but looking to pursue higher education. “I play the mid lane for the team, and my role is to facilitate through my map presence while also acting as a primary/secondary carry,” he adds.

Talking about the team’s preparations in the run-up to Asiad, Shenoy says they have had to spend countless hours improving themselves individually while also honing their team skills. “We VOD-review (watching a recorded game or match to find mistakes, fix bad habits, and improve skills) our own games as well as those of our competitors to determine how to prepare and strategise better. We’ve also been competing in several regional and international tournaments to put our skills to the test, winning most of them,” adds Shenoy.

Similarly, Bisht says he spends several hours every day on individual practice, champion pool improvement, and reviewing his own gameplay. “As a team, we practise together regularly, work on strategy, communication, matchups, and review our scrims in detail. The goal is to make sure we are prepared for the level of competition we will face,” he adds.

Eventually, Bisht says they will compete and fight for a medal finish. “We want to give our best performance,” says Bisht.

“We’re going to put everything on the line for this event and give it our best shot for a medal finish,” adds Shenoy.

Meanwhile, Mayank Prajapati (aka MiKeYROG), who played in the last Asian Games in the Street Fighter V event, is also positive about Team India’s prospects. “I know all the players we currently have and play with them regularly. We have a lot of young talent… Thanks to Capcom (an online regional tournament circuit) and their ‘World Warrior’ programme, we get to compete against other countries as well, so we have a good chance this time,” he says.

Prajapati is a freelance architect and has been playing games since childhood. Commenting on his experience in Hangzhou, he says: “It was one of my best tournament experiences ever. I met so many international players and some of the players I follow in the game. I played many games with them and gained exposure as to how other pro players think.”

Permanence over experimentation

The inclusion of esports as a medal event for the second time at the Asian Games is significant — it comes at a time when the gaming market has already crossed $1 billion in annual revenue and is projected to reach $1.77 billion by 2030, with the player base expected to grow from 511 million in 2025 to over 700 million by 2030, as per a recent report by NIKO Partners.

The development also signals permanence rather than experimentation. “It strengthens the case for esports to be treated as a high-performance discipline, encouraging greater investment from brands, state governments, educational institutions and sports bodies,” says Rohit Agarwal, founder and director of Alpha Zegus, a creative marketing agency specialising in gaming and lifestyle.

The Asian Games also create aspirational value. “Every medal opportunity encourages families, academies and sponsors to take esports more seriously. That legitimacy is just as important as the competition itself,” adds Agarwal.

The medal event recognition also reinforces that competitive gaming is becoming an established sporting discipline on the global stage, says Gautam Virk, co-founder and CEO of NODWIN Gaming, a company focused on esports, gaming and youth entertainment.

“For India, it validates the aspirations of thousands of young players and gives the entire ecosystem greater confidence to invest in talent, infrastructure and long-term growth,” he adds.

For a long time, one of the biggest challenges was changing the perception of gaming from being just a form of entertainment to something that requires skill, discipline, strategy, and years of practice. “Platforms like the Asian Games help accelerate that shift,” says Animesh Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of S8UL, an esports and gaming content company.

It also creates a stronger ecosystem around athletes. “When there is a prestigious global platform to compete at, it encourages better training structures, more investment, and greater participation from all stakeholders. This benefits not just players, but also organisations, publishers, tournament operators, brands, and the wider gaming community,” adds Agarwal.

On a renewed growth curve

The Indian esports ecosystem has grown tremendously over the past few years. What has changed is that gaming is no longer limited to a small community of players. It has become a larger youth entertainment ecosystem.

A major reason behind this growth has been accessibility. “Affordable smartphones, internet, and better connectivity have made mobile gaming extremely popular across the country. This has helped millions of young Indians discover gaming and esports,” says Agarwal of S8UL.

At the same time, the sector has also received greater recognition from institutions, with initiatives like the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act (PROGA), 2025 helping provide more clarity around esports as a legitimate multi-sport discipline while distinguishing it from online money games.

“Creators have also played a huge role in making gaming mainstream. They have built large communities around gaming content, introduced new audiences to esports, and helped change the perception of gaming from just a hobby to a form of entertainment and a potential career,” says Agarwal.

Another major shift has been the increasing involvement of brands and sponsors. Companies that were traditionally outside gaming are now recognising the value of this audience. “We are seeing brands enter through team partnerships, tournament sponsorships, and creator collaborations.”

“For our Esports World Cup 2026 campaign, Campa Energy has joined us as the title sponsor, while AMD has partnered with us to support our competitive and content initiatives. Beyond this, we are also seeing several non-endemic brands and mainstream sports entities collaborate with esports tournaments, teams, athletes, and creators, which shows how much the industry has evolved,” adds Agarwal.

The FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Industry Report 2026 highlights the growing scale and maturity of India’s esports ecosystem. In 2025, nearly 2.85 million players participated in esports in India, with 41 professional teams, 23 active esports titles, over 9,500 hours of tournament broadcasts, and participation from 75 brands. “The ecosystem is also becoming increasingly global, with international team participation nearly doubling over the last year. That scale is creating larger competitive communities, stronger tournament participation, higher viewership, and growing interest from publishers and brands,” says Virk of NODWIN Gaming.

As the ecosystem continues to mature, the focus is shifting from scale to sustainability, creating better opportunities for players, teams, tournament organisers, and the wider industry, he adds.

The road ahead

Indian esports has reached a point where the conversation is less about talent and more about creating the right environment for that talent to thrive. Building an ecosystem that can consistently support players as they progress to the highest level is the focus point now. “That includes stronger infrastructure, easier access to international competition, and addressing practical hurdles like visas and travel that often affect teams competing overseas,” says Virk of NODWIN Gaming.

India has immense talent, but Agarwal of S8UL feels we need systems that allow players to progress from grassroots levels to becoming professional athletes. “In traditional sports, there is a clear pathway through school-level competitions, districts, states, nationals, and leagues like Ranji Trophy in cricket. Esports needs similar structures where aspiring players know how to enter the ecosystem, develop their skills, and eventually reach the highest level,” he adds.

Another challenge, according to Agarwal, is access to international competition. “Players often face difficulties around travel and visa processes, which can impact their ability to participate in global tournaments. For athletes to improve, they need consistent exposure to international competition, and removing these barriers will be important,” he adds.

Even though the situation has improved for some esports titles, especially mobile ones, the same can’t be said for others, says gamer Shenoy. “A lack of infrastructure, government support, job security, awareness, and a well-established ecosystem still exists for most titles. The boom of the mobile gaming industry is understandable, but the hype needs to extend to the entire ecosystem,” he explains.

According to Shenoy, the government also heavily taxes these underdeveloped titles as a result of the massive success of a few games, which makes having a career in these titles challenging. “However, India is on the right track, and hopefully, in the near future, esports will be recognised as a whole,” he adds.

The Aichi-Nagoya Games is already leading us in that direction.