NEW DELHI: Esports Federation of India (ESFI) hosted a send-off ceremony for the Indian contingent participating at the first-ever Commonwealth Esports Championship on Sunday.
The inaugural multi-nation esports tournament is organized by Commonwealth Games & Global Esports Federation; scheduled in Birmingham from August 6-7.
The members of the DOTA 2 and Rocket League, who will be representing the country at the prestigious event, were present on the occasion alongside Lokesh Suji, director ESFI & VP – Asian Esports Federation, Satinder Sikri (VP-Haryana Esports Association) and Yash Bhalawala (gen secretary – Esports Association of Gujarat).
ESFI also unveiled the Indian team’s official kits for the Commonwealth Esports Championships during the event.
“Esports is like every other sport and we wanted to make sure that we bid farewell to our Indian contingent in the best way possible ahead of the big event. We are grateful to INOX for helping us organize this wonderful send-off ceremony. The rise of Esports in India in the last few years has truly been remarkable and the participation of two teams on behalf of the nation on the global stage is a result of that. We, at ESFI, wish the best of luck to the Indian contingent and we are confident that they will make the nation proud,” said Suji.
“We are honoured and super excited to be part of this inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championship and there is a high probability that esports will be a medal sport in the next Commonwealth Games scheduled in 2026,” Suji added.
The Indian team in the Rocket League will be led by Hargun Singh (Hargun <2) with Sandeep Sahani and Rushil Reddy being the other two members. Team Dota 2, on the other hand, comprises captain Moin Ejaz, Ketan Goyal, Abhishek Yadav, Shubham Goli and Vishal Vernekar.
Both the teams have already proved their mettle by clinching impressive wins in the tournament’s South Asian Regional Qualifiers last month.
Alongside DOTA2 and Rocket League, PES2022 will also be part of the tournament.
The 2022 Commonwealth Esports Championships will be conducted at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.
