The Directorate of Sports and Youth Services of the Government of Maharashtra has rewarded Rs 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 this 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.
Bata who hails from Mumbai, said, “I would like to express my sincere thanks to ESFI and the Maharashtra government for honouring us and recognising and supporting esports.”
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.
“It has been a great experience at Asian games, I am grateful for the support I received from the Maharashtra government and I really appreciate the efforts ESFI has contributed to our journey,” stated Goyal.
Esports Federation of India (ESFI), had organised an open for all nationwide online qualifiers to select the best athletes to compete for the nation at the tournament. “I am really grateful to the Maharashtra government for providing us with the financial support. It is amazing to see esports being recognised by the Government,” said Trivedi
“Thank you for the support to the Maharashtra government and a big shoutout to ESFI for giving us this opportunity to represent India in the Asian games,” highlighted Gupta.