(Esports news) The Esports Federation of India (ESFI) announced a strong 18-member Indian contingent for the 2022 Asian Games where Esports will be a medal sport for the first time ever. Team Whoops sealed Asian games berth by defeating Team Avengers in the DOTA2 grand finals at ESFI’s National Esports Championships

Following eight days of high-voltage competition and nail-biting action in the ESFI’s National Esports Championship 2022 (NESC ’22), the winners have been selected to represent the country at the prestigious continental tournament, scheduled in Hangzhou, China from September 10-25. The NESC ’22 saw more than 200 esports athletes from across the country battling it out virtually in the five popular Esports titles—DOTA2, Hearthstone, FIFA22, Street Fighter V and League of Legends. The runners-up of single player titles—FIFA22, Street Fighter V and Hearthstone—will also be part of the Indian contingent. 

“We are delighted with the energy of the national qualifiers. All the esports athletes gave everything to earn themselves a chance to represent the country. It’s great to see high-quality competition for each position. I congratulate all the athletes and wish them good luck for their preparations for the upcoming Asian Games,” said Mr. Lokesh Suji, Director ESFI & VP-Asian Esports Federation. 

“We conducted NESC ’22 in a double elimination format in order to provide equal opportunity to each player or team. And we are thrilled to pick a strong Indian squad. I believe each of them will make the most of this opportunity and make India proud by bringing laurels to the country,” Suji added.

On the final day of the championships, Team Whoops emerged champions in DOTA2 and made the cut into the Indian contingent for the Asiad. A team, comprising veteran athletes like Moin Ejaz (Captain), Krish, Abhishek, Ketan, Darshan and Shubham, notched up a comprehensive 3-0 win against Team Avengers in the best-of-five final.

“I have been playing DOTA since my childhood days and now it’s a great honour for me to lead the Indian team in its maiden appearance at the Asian Games in this game. I would like to thank the federation [ESFI], who has been very supportive & professional. We will give our best to bring glory for the country in the Asiad” said elated Moin, skipper of Team Whoops. 

The national champions and the runners-up, who will be part of the Indian contingent at the Asian Games 2022, are:

FIFA22 – Charanjot Singh and Karman Singh Tikka
Street Fighter V – Mayank Prajapati and Ayan Biswas
Hearthstone – Shikhar Choudhary and Karthik Varma
League of Legends – Team Temple of kings ( captain Akshaj Shenoy, Samarth Arvind Trivedi, Mihir Ranjan, Aditya Selvaraj, Aakash Shandilya and Sanindhya Malik)
DOTA 2 – Team Whoops (captain Moin Ejaz, Krish, Abhishek, Ketan, Darshan and Shubham)

The Indian contingent will now participate in the AESF’s Road to Asian Games-Regional Qualifiers (June-July, 2022), which will be conducted to decide seeding for the main event in China. ESFI continued its partnership with Artsmith- Concepts & Visions which has extended its support as the communication partner.

Also read: Shikhar, Karthik & Team Temple of Kings seal 2022 Asian Games spot