Nagoya(Japan), 29 September (H.S.): The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has made it clear that esports will remain part of the Asian Games. Esports will not be removed from the continental multi-sport event after the 2026 Asian Games being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

OCA Director General Husain Al-Musallam said esports would continue within the Asian Games, adding that the organisation would continue to support its development across Asia. He also clarified that the OCA had made no announcement regarding the removal of esports from the Asian Games.

On September 19, 2026, the OCA signed a hosting agreement with Kuwait. Under the agreement, the inaugural Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games will be held in Kuwait in 2027. According to the OCA, the event is intended to provide Asian athletes with an additional platform to showcase their talent. The new event will have no bearing on the status of esports at the Asian Games.

Esports made its debut at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang as a demonstration sport. It subsequently received official medal-sport status at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, where a total of seven gold medals were contested.

At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, 11 esports events are being held. These include titles and disciplines such as Combat Sports, Pokémon Unite, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, eFootball, GT Racing 7 and others.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar