Asian Games Esports Keeps Medal Status, OCA Says

!games@lemmy.world Esports is staying at the Asian Games, at least according to the Olympic Council of Asia. On 28 September, the OCA confirmed that esports will keep full medal status beyond the current Aichi-Nagoya Games, rejecting reports that the discipline would be dropped after this edition. Director General Husain Al-Musallam said the OCA never announced any removal and will keep supporting the growth of esports across Asia.

Part of the confusion likely comes from a new event. On 19 September, the OCA signed a host city contract with Kuwait for the first Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games in 2027. The OCA says it is meant as an additional stage that runs alongside the Asian Games, not a replacement.

Esports has risen quickly at the Games. It was a demonstration sport in Jakarta-Palembang in 2018 and became a medal event in Hangzhou in 2022. Aichi-Nagoya now features 11 titles, including League of Legends, Pokémon UNITE, Honor of Kings and a Fighting Game Team Event. Puyo Puyo Champions has reached the quarterfinals, and the mobile MLBB tournament is heading toward its gold medal match.

The OCA's own paperwork contradicts its statement. Item 6 of the decision from the OCA Executive Board's 90th meeting on 26 November 2024 explicitly approved removing esports from the Asian Games after Aichi-Nagoya. Under that plan, esports would move entirely to a separate esports and mind games event. That document is still on the OCA's website, and no amendment or revocation accompanied this week's denial. Teams, players and federations are left with two official OCA records that say opposite things.

The OCA has also not said what esports will look like at the 2030 Games in Doha and promises only that operational plans will follow. That gap matters, because federations plan qualification cycles years in advance. The Kuwait event could become a real opportunity, or it could become the place esports is gradually moved to while the Asian Games quietly scale it back. The Doha programme will show the OCA's actual commitment more clearly than any press statement.

https://gampcc.online/2026/09/30/asian-games-esports-keeps-medal-status-oca-says/

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