E-sports to fight for Asian Games inclusion after being left off initial list of 37 sports for 2022 edition in Hangzhou
- Asian e-sports chief Kenneth Fok says they are in talks with the Olympic Council of Asia and are confident of being part of the Games
Asia’s top e-sports official said he would continue to fight for its inclusion in the Asian Games in Hangzhou after it was left out of the initial list of 37 sports competing for medals at the 2022 multi-sport event.
Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, president of the Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF), said the regional governing body was still in talks with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to ensure e-sports is part of the Hangzhou Games after a successful introduction as a demonstration sport in Jakarta last year.
“We have had extensive conversations with the OCA regarding e-sports being featured in the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games,” Fok told the South China Morning Post. “Thus far, our conversations have been fruitful and the OCA has been supportive of such a direction.
“Of course, I cannot speak on behalf of OCA or the LOC [local organising committee] but I remain positive that e-sports will be featured in the event.”
The gaming community was stunned in early April when the OCA announced its list of sports for 2022 with e-sports missing, especially with the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games set to become the first regional multi-sport event to feature e-sports as full medal disciplines in Manila in November and December.
