New Delhi : Charanjot Singh and Mayank Prajapati secured their berths at the Asian Games 2022 by winning the titles in FIFA Pro and Street Fighter V categories respectively at the National Esports Championships 2022 (NESC ’22) on Saturday.
Charanjot outclassed Karman Singh with a score of 4-1 and 6-5 in a nail-biting FIFA22 grand finale. The Chandigarh resident Charanjot, who made headlines last year after winning the AIFF eFootball Challenge 2021, made his mark in the national qualifiers by entering the final from the loser bracket before he defeated a strong opponent in Karman, who made it to the final from the winner’s bracket.
The NESC ’22 is being played virtually due to the pandemic as the winners will be selected to represent the country at the upcoming Asian Games, scheduled tio be held in Hangzhou, China from September 10-25.
The Esports Federation of India (ESFI) has been conducting national qualifiers in a double-elimination format for five popular Esports titles—DOTA 2, Hearthstone, FIFA22, Street Fighter V, and League of Legends. Esports will be played as a medal sport for the first time at the Asian Games.
After winning the NESC ’22 and securing himself a berth at the Asian Games, Charanjot Singh said, “I’m really happy and proud of myself for winning the NESC Fifa Qualifiers. It’s a great feeling to represent India in FIFA. Its sheer dedication and hard work resulted in getting the spot in the Asian Games 2022 and it allowed me a chance to bring the laurels to the country.
“The right mentality and proper grind towards the game make everything possible and a sure-shot path to get success. I can’t wait to represent India at the Asian games and do my best to get that medal home,” he added.
Meanwhile, in the grand finale of Street Fighter V, Mayank aka ‘MiKeYROG’ defeated Ayan Biswas 3-0. Out of 15 players who registered for SFV, both Mayank and Ayan showed immense skills in their gameplay. The dominant between the two, Mayank secured his berth for the Asian Games 2022 by showcasing superb skills. He was undefeated throughout the tournament. Delhi athlete Mayank is a popular face in the Indian fighting game community and got into Street Fighter in 2009.
“It’s a dream come true moment for me. I’m super excited for Asian Games 2022. This is really huge and it will definitely put the Indian FGC’s name on the global map. This is a lifetime opportunity and I’m going to put every ounce of energy into getting the gold medal for my country. Also, a big thanks to ESFI for handling the qualifiers with such ease and providing Indian FGC with such an amazing opportunity,” said elated Mayank Prajapati.
Later in the tournament, the Top-6 in the esports title Hearthstone—Tirth Mehta, Vinayak Subramanian, Karthik Varma Vegesna, Shikhar, Adarsh Shivam and Garv Arora, will battle it out for the title and also a place in the Indian contingent for the Asian Games.
The quarter-finalists from the playoffs, who will be fighting it out to compete in the DOTA 2 finals, are Team Whoops, Serene Chaos, 1 Misal 3 Pav, Team Avengers, DMC, Digicont, Stylish Gamers and New Gods.
As there are only four teams (Temple of Kings, Support No Vision, Pineapple Cake and Coco Cats) registered for the esports title League of Legends, all four are directly clashing in the semi-finals of the national qualifiers.
The winners of NESC ’22 will participate in the AESF’s Road to Asian Games – Regional Qualifiers (June-July, 2022), which are being held for seeding at the main event in China.
–IANS
Comments are closed.