Mumbai: India's premier DOTA 2 team is gearing up to recreate their stunning success at the Commonwealth Esports Championships as they take on Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines in their opening group stage games of the Asian Games 2022 at the China Hangzhou Esports Centre on 29 September.

Led by skipper Darshan Bata (A35), the skilled DOTA 2 unit comprising Krish Gupta (Krish-), Abhishek Yadav (Abhi-), Ketan Goyal (Evil-Ash), and Shubham Goli (Madness) has been drawn into Group A, where they are scheduled to compete against Kyrgyzstan and the Philippines in Best-of-One (BO1) single round-robin format matches. The top-ranked team from this group will advance to face Nepal in the quarter-finals on 30 September.

All matches in the elimination stage for DOTA 2 will be contested in the head-to-head, Best-of-Three (BO3) single elimination format. There will be a total of 14 notable teams participating in the title.

“As the captain of the team, I feel an immense sense of responsibility and pride in leading the country’s first-ever DOTA 2 team at the Asian Games. The entire team has been practicing constantly in the build-up to the tournament as all of us understand the honor of representing India at such a prestigious competition. With the constant support of ESFI throughout our journey, we are ready to give our all and make the country proud by bringing home a medal,” said DOTA 2 team captain Darshan Bata.

The squad sealed their qualification for the Asian Games 2022, by prevailing in the finals of the National Esports Championships (NESC) organized by Esports Federation of India (ESFI) last year. The team’s experienced players Ketan, Abhishek, and Shubham were part of the iconic squad that scripted history by clinching the bronze medal at last year’s inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championships in Birmingham.

Sharing his thoughts on the talented team participating in the tournament, Esports Federation of India director & Asian Esports Federation (AESF) vice president Lokesh Suji expressed, "At ESFI, we have witnessed the incredible growth of Esports in India and the extraordinary talent that has emerged from our nation. This DOTA 2 team consists of some of the finest players in the country who have already proved their mettle at the Commonwealth Esports Championships last year. We are confident that they will perform at a similar level in Hangzhou and bring laurels for the country."

One of the country's top sports and Esports communication agencies, Artsmith-Concepts & Visions, will continue its support to the Esports Federation of India as its official communication partner.

On Sunday, India's Charanjot Singh and Karman Tikka bowed out of the Asian Games 2022 after suffering hard-fought defeats in EA Sports FC Online.

Charanjot suffered a 0:2 defeat to China's Liu Jiacheng in his opening game but bounced back strongly with three consecutive wins. He won by 2:0 against Aristorenas Jorrel of Philippines, 2-1 against Alrowaihi RKM of Bahrain, and 2-0 against Yessentayev Olzhas of Kazakhstan in the Losers Bracket Round 1, 2, and 3 respectively.

However, his campaign came to an end after enduring another 0-2 defeat against Liu Jiacheng of China in the Losers Bracket Round 4. The 20-year-old finished in the Top 16.

On the other hand, Karman Singh went down fighting in a 1-2 loss against Faqeehi Abdulaziz Abdullatif of Bahrain in his tournament opener. Similar to Charanjot, he too made a strong comeback by defeating Kiswani Abdelrahman of Palestine by 2-1 in the Losers Bracket Round 1 before going down by 1-2 against Aldhafiri Meshari of Kuwait in the Losers Bracket Round 2 to exit the competition.

On Tuesday, two of the country’s most distinguished Street Fighter V: Champion Edition athletes, Mayank Prajapati (MiKeYROG) and Ayan Biswas (AYAN01) will embark on their pursuit for a medal from the Round of 32 stage. Mayank will go head to head against T.F. Rajikhan of Saudi Arabia while his teammate, Ayan Biswas, will be up against K.H.C Nguyen of Vietnam.

Following the Street Fighter V: Champion Edition fixtures, the nation’s star-studded League of Legends which has been seeded directly to the quarter-finals will begin its campaign on 27 September. As a result of dominating the recently held Central and South Asia seeding event and clinching top seed, the team has gained direct entry into the top-8 of the tournament and will face Vietnam in its tournament opener.