NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Sports and Youth Services of the government of Maharashtra has awarded INR 10 lakhs to each Esports athlete of the state who represented India in the Asian Games 2022, held in Hangzhou.
This is the first time any state has included Esports alongside mainstream sports in prize money rewards for its state players in a major tournament. The recipients of the monetary reward include Darshan Bata, captain of the DOTA 2 team, along with his teammates Krish Gupta, Ketan Goyal, and Shubham Goli, as well as League of Legends athlete Samarth Trivedi.
Esports made its debut as a full-fledged medal event at the Asian Games 2022, where a total of 476 athletes from 30 different countries competed for gold medals across seven titles.
India participated in four of these titles, including DOTA 2, EA Sports FC Online, League of Legends, and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition.
Prior to the 19th Asian Games, India had also secured a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Esports Championships in DOTA 2, showcasing the country’s prowess in video gaming on the international stage.
The latest FICCI-EY report titled ‘#Reinvent: India’s media & entertainment sector is innovating for the future, India is expected to have 20 international teams by 2024.
