PANAJI: Esports Federation of India (ESFI) launched the ‘Road to Asian Games’ program during a partnership announcement with the country’s leading Multiplex chain INOX Leisure Ltd to select the Indian team for the continental event and provide them comprehensive training ahead of the Hangzhou event, where the sport will make its debut as a medal event; states a press release.
India’s only medallist in the multisport event, Tirth Mehta is eyeing a podium finish in Hangzhou and to best prepare the country’s Esports contingent for the multi-sport event, INOX Leisure Ltd and ESFI have joined hands to coach and train the Indian Team as well as promote Esports across the country, creating an excitement and buzz around the sport with never-seen-before experience.
Keeping this in mind, the ‘Road to Asian Games’ program has been launched which will run from March 20 till April 10, when the Indian team will be finalised through multiple competitive tournaments.
“With the introduction of Esports as a medal event in the 2022 Asian Games and demonstrative event at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the latter half of the year, it is overwhelming to see how corporates are now coming forward and supporting Esports, which was a rarity until a few years back. As a player, such backing gives us a sense of assurance that the ecosystem will continue to strengthen and we as a esports players will be benefiting from such associations,” Mehta said during an event announcing the partnership between INOX and ESFI.
The online training will be provided by reputed coaches of International Esports Federation (IESF) and Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF).
The program will be a great opportunity for the likes of Mehta, who won a bronze medal in Hearthstone at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta when Esports was a demonstration event as he eyes to finish on the podium in Hangzhou.
INOX has been intrinsically supporting Indian sports through various collaborations, with the most notable being with their longstanding partnership with Indian Olympic Association. Now, with a goal to revolutionise Esports landscape in India, INOX & ESFI together aims to take esports to masses using INOX cinemas as venues for hosting esports tournaments, streaming of live competitions, provide training opportunities and offer a talent scouting platform for future global events.
Commenting on this association, Alok Tandon, Chief Executive Officer, INOX Leisure Limited, said: “We are thrilled to bring the action of Esports to the cinemas of INOX in collaboration with Esports Federation of India who has been working relentlessly to grow Indian esports and together, make esports, a mainstream sporting activity in India. Our cinemas are present at highly urbane and youth-centric locations servicing the entertainment needs of a predominantly young population in an unmatched ambience equipped with advanced cinema technology. We believe, this advantage, coupled with all our marketing capabilities, will help us popularise Esports at a much faster pace in our country. With Esports gaining global significance, there cannot be a better time for us to fulfil this responsibility. With this association, we will build more esports IPs and who knows with our initiatives we can unearth a Neeraj Chopra in Esports for our country.”
ESFI, which is a recognised member of the AESF, the sole governing body for Esports in Asia and recognised by Olympic Council of Asia, believes this partnership will enable them to reach smaller cities and unearth Esports talents by hosting city tournaments and building various Esports IPs in order to intensify growth of Esports not just at elite but also at grassroots level.
“The experience of watching Esports tournaments on the big screen is enthralling and engaging. ESFI is excited for this partnership, as this will also be a concrete step to take Esports to masses and inspire people and give them a platform to showcase their talent. The exclusive partnership comes at a very right time when Asian Games is scheduled in the month of September and ESFI will soon launch “AESF’s Road to Asian Games” to select the national esports contingent of our country. This partnership will also see both ESFI & INOX together nurture and develop the Indian Esports talent pool, creating a robust and thriving esports ecosystem, said Vinod Tiwari, President, Esports Federation of India & Director, NOC & International Relations- Olympic Council of Asia.
