The Indian League of Legends team produced dazzling displays in the Central and South Asia seeding event and recorded statement victories against Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to secure favourable seeding at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.
All three games witnessed a stellar display of skill and teamwork from Team India captained by Akshaj Shenoy (Kai) and comprising Samarth Arvind Trivedi (CrankO), Mihir Ranjan (Lotus), Sanindhya Malik (Deadcorp), Aakash Shandilya (Infi), and Aditya Selvaraj (Crow). The team started their campaign by convincingly defeating Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan by 2-0 on the opening day before triumphing over Kyrgyzstan with an identical scoreline in the best of three fixtures.
Commenting on the results, Team India League of Legends captain Akshaj Shenoy said, “It feels amazing to have secured a favorable seeding for the Asian Games 2022 in such a dominating fashion. Each of the victories is a testament to the countless hours of practice and strategy planning it has taken for our team to reach this point. Our journey till now has been remarkable and we are fully prepared to face any challenge that comes our way. We want to extend our sincere gratitude to Esports Federation of India (ESFI) for providing us with this wonderful opportunity and we will make sure to leave no stone unturned in our quest to secure a podium finish at the Asian Games.”
Having made their way to the Asian Games by prevailing in the National Esports Championships (NESC) organised by the Esports Federation of India (ESFI), Team India has proved their mettle by consistently performing to the best of their abilities. With their resounding victories in the seeding fixtures against top teams from Asia, they have firmly established themselves as the team to watch out for in the highly anticipated tournament.
“Team India’s scintillating performances in the League of Legends seeding event is a sign of what is to come in Hangzhou. We are not only proud to witness their achievements but are also confident that they will make India proud on the international stage against the leading teams from Asia. Everyone at ESFI extends its complete support to the team as they gear up to bring laurels to the country at the Asian Games,” said Esports Federation of India director and Asian Esports Federation (AESF) VP Lokesh Suji.
The Asian Games will feature 19 notable League of Legends teams from the continent that will battle it for glory at what will be esports’ debut as an official medal event at the tournament. All matches till the final will be played in the best of three format while the gold medal and bronze medal matches will be contested in the best of five format.
The seeding fixtures for the DOTA 2 team comprising skipper Darshan, Krish, Abhishek, Ketan, and Shubham will be conducted online on 13 July while Street Fighter V athletes Mayank Prajapati and Ayan Biswas will be travelling to Hangzhou, China for their respective seeding fixtures from 22-23 July.
The dates for the seeding matches of FIFA Online 4 athletes Charanjot Singh and Karman Singh Tikka will be announced soon by the AESF.