ESports included in official SEA Games events

Following the success of the first Asian Games eSports event in Indonesia, the Philippines will host one for the SEA Games, this time as an official medal sport. Asian Electronic Sports Federation

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--The inclusion of eSports highlights the list of sports to be played in next year's Southeast Asian Games.

The eSports event is part of 12 medal sports grouped under Category 3, the name of the disciplines which are either categorized as a regional sport or a sport being played for the first time in the said biennial meet.

The said development came at the heels of the first Asian Games eSports event this year in Jakarta. While it was meant to be a demonstration sport, it is expected to be elevated to an official sport come 2022.

All in all, a total of 56 sports are scheduled to be played in the next SEA Games, which will be hosted by the Philippines.

Most of the sports in the SEA Games calendar, like athletics, aquatics, basketball, triathlon, and weightlifting, are expected to give the host nation gold medals.

The said sports were approved during a meeting of the SEA Games Federation Council on Saturday.

The approved sports for the SEA Games are as follows:

Category 1: Athletics and Aquatics;

Category 2: Archery, Badminton, Baseball/Softball, Basketball, Billiards, 10-pin Bowling, Boxing, Canoe/Traditional Boat Race, Chess, Cycling, Dance Sport, Fencing, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Handball, Hockey, Ice hockey, Ice skating, Judo, Karatedo, Modern Pentathlon, Muay, Pencak Silat, Polo, Rowing, Rugby Sevens, Sailing/Windsurfing, Sepak Takraw, Skateboarding, Shooting, Soft Tennis, Squash, Surfing, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball, Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Wushu;

Category 3: Arnis, eSports, Floorball, Jiujitsu, Kickboxing, Kurash, Lawn Bowls/Petanque, Netball, Obstacle Course, Sambo/Vovinam, Underwater Hockey, and Wakeboarding.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno