Daily Times

LAHORE: E-sports and breakdancing will debut in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, as full medal sports after being approved by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), the governing body said on Friday. E-sports first appeared as an official medal sport at the Asian Indoor Games in Macau in 2007. They were also a part of the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia but medals did not count in the overall standings. The Olympic Council of Asia believes the inclusion of electronic sports in the official sports programme of the 19th Asian Games in 2022 will “add value” to the OCA’s showpiece event. E-sports, along with breaking, will make their Asian Games debut as full medal sports at Hangzhou 2022 after being approved at the 39th OCA General Assembly in Muscat, Oman on December 16. The OCA’s Asian Games Director, Haider Farman, is looking forward to welcoming the e-sports community to Hangzhou. “It is a great pleasure and honour for me to bring you the good news that electronic sports haves been included in the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022 sports programme. I hope that electronic sports will add value to the Asian Games – and I am sure it will in the future, during the Asian Games 2022 and even beyond that,” said OCA Asian Games Director Haider Farman in a video message. Breakdancing, considered one of the pillars of hip-hop culture, will also make its Asian Games bow in 2022, two years before it features in the Olympics for the first time in Paris 2024. The 19th edition of the Asian Games is due to take place from September 10-25, 2022. The OCA said that the Asian Electronic Sports Federation – the OCA’s partner as a continental sports federation – will be in charge of all technical issues and the operation of the competition in Hangzhou, where there will be six medal events.