Esports has been approved for inclusion as a medaled sport in the 19th annual Asian Games 2022 taking place in Hangzhou, China.
On Wednesday, the 39th General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) was held in Muscat, the sultanate of Oman. During the meeting, it was announced that break dancing and esports were approved to be included in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, categorizing esports and break dance as mind sport and dance sport respectively.
Esports was introduced to the Asian Games for the first time in Jakarta in 2018, but it was only a demonstration sport back then. This time, it has become an official event, meaning gaming has been recognized as a sport in a top continental multi-sport event like the Asian Games.
Specifics including which video games are included and how competitions will take place will be confirmed after further discussion. Two years ago, five games were included as demonstration titles: League of Legends, Arena of Valor, Pro Evolution Soccer 2018, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, and Clash Royale.
