First, it was during the Asian Games 2018 where Tirth Mehta got the bronze medal in esports (demonstration title) and now the Indian DOTA 2 team produced a power-packed performance to clinch the bronze medal at the first-ever Commonwealth Esports Championship on Sunday.

The Indian Dota 2 team, comprising Moin Ejaz (captain), Ketan Goyal, Abhishek Yadav, Shubhnam Goli, and Vishal Vernekar, defeated New Zealand by 2-0 in a best-of-three format. Despite the early pressure from New Zealand, the Indian contingent kept a cool head and won the first two rounds by taking the enemy’s ancient with their intense gameplay and strategies.

“This win symbolises the amount of hard work the team has put in over the years and we dedicate this win to our country. Winning a medal at the Commonwealth was a dream for us and we’re super proud as a team. We were very much aware before leaving for Birmingham that the tournament was going to be tough. Keeping in mind the intensity and level of the game on such an international platform, each and every team member gave their best shot during the practice sessions. We have invested a lot of time in preparing the strategies and improving our gameplay, which finally culminated in this win. We would like to thank the Esports Federation of India (ESFI) and Lokesh Suji Sir for their continuous support, motivation & encouragement. We hope that this win will encourage more tournaments around DOTA 2 and other esports titles, which will help the ecosystem as a whole to grow in our country,” said an elated Indian DOTA 2 skipper Moin Ejaz after winning the bronze medal.

Earlier in the DOTA 2, India came away with a convincing victory against Wales, got a bye against Trinidad and Tobago, but lost to England. They went on to the semi-finals but couldn’t go past Malaysia’s team and ended with a bronze medal match with New Zealand, which the team won convincingly.

“This is a historic win. The team DOTA has made the entire country proud by winning the bronze medal in the first-ever Commonwealth Esports Championship 2022. Moreover, it’s a dream come true for the Indian Esports Ecosystem as we have won the bronze medal at the Asian Games 2018 as well. The entire esports community is overwhelmed with this win and will fuel many esports athletes to represent India on a global stage in coming years,” said Lokesh Suji, Director of Esports Federation of India and Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation.

“Our next stop will be Asian Games 2022, where Esports is a proper medal event, and our focus is to excel in the tournament with multiple podiums finishes and bringing the laurels for our country. The esports community wants and requires esports to be recognised by the government as a sport in India to gain the benefits and support any sports community and athletes would receive. We want our esports industry to grow, develop and be nurtured just like any other sports in India,” added Mr Suji.

The Indian team in the Rocket League, which Hargun Singh led with Sandeep Sahani and Rushil Reddy, were not able to make it through after losing out to Canada by 3-0 in the best of five series in their first group stage match. The team faced similar defeats against Wales and England, which resulted in their exit from the Commonwealth Esports Championship early in the group stage.

One of the country’s top sports and Esports specialised communication firms, Artsmith – Concepts & Visions and India’s Leading Multiplex chain INOX continue their support for this prestigious tournament as the communication and multiplex partners of ESFI, respectively.

Commonwealth Games & Global Esports Federation organised the inaugural multi-nation esports tournament, scheduled in Birmingham from August 6-7. The 2022 Commonwealth Esports Championships were conducted at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham with the presence of the world’s top Esports teams. Alongside DOTA2 and Rocket League, PES2022 was also part of the tournament.

India’s Mohammed Ibrahim secured his place in the final of the first-ever Sim Racing World Cup by finishing second in the Asian Continental Qualifiers.

Ibrahim ended the race impressively with a lap time of 1:33.575 behind Thailand’s Thanathip Tanalapanan, who grabbed the top position after completing the race in 1:33.561.

India’s other participating driver, Davlish Singh, on the other hand, secured the sixth position with a lap time of 1:34.026 at the Qualifiers which saw the participation of 14 top drivers from across Asia, competing for two available spots in the final. Both Ibrahim and Davlish had won the NESC22 (Simracing), the Indian National Qualifiers which were held in a hybrid mode at ESFI’s multiplex partner INOX’s Megaplex, Malad, Mumbai.

“Since my childhood, I’ve been fascinated with racing cars, which developed into a passion for motorsports. It is a surreal feeling to qualify for the grand final of the SRWC. I feel glad to have carried the momentum in the qualifiers after winning the NESC and hope to do so in Monaco as well. It is going to be a challenging experience to compete with the best sim racing drivers from all over the world. I will be working on a few minor things to improve my gameplay and perform at the highest level to make my country proud in the finals. Racing is my goal and vision, wish to excel in both Sim as well as on Real Motorsports, and always look for opportunities and support.” said the jubilant Ibrahim, who already has titles of the Isolation E Championship, McLaren Logitech G Challenge, US F4 Kcr Championship and Ultimate E Championship to his name.

Interestingly, Ibrahim’s finish was also the fifth fastest, globally. Apart from Tanalapanan, only David Toth of Hungary (1:33.197), Slovenia’s Jernej Simonic (1:33.329) and Spain’s Pedro Sanchez (1:33.336), who qualified from the European continent, recorded less time than Ibrahim.

The Continental Qualifiers saw drivers from 39 countries, divided into 5 continents. The final will take place in Monaco from October 23 to 24 as Ibrahim among 12 top drivers will fight for the title.

“Ibrahim has made the entire country proud by making sure India is one of the countries that contests in the inaugural Sim Racing World Cup final. Both Ibrahim and Davlish performed brilliantly against the top drivers from the Asia region. This is a huge achievement for the sim racing community and another step towards further growth of Esports in India. Everyone at ESFI wishes him the best of luck to win the championship.” said Lokesh Suji, Director of Esports Federation of India and Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation.

One of the country’s top sports and Esports specialised communication firms, Artsmith – Concepts & Visions and India’s Leading Multiplex chain INOX continue their support for this prestigious tournament as the communication and venue partners of ESFI respectively.

The first-ever Sim Racing World Cup is organised by the International Esports Federation in association with Monaco Esports Federation. The tournament features one of the world’s most popular sim racing titles, Assetto Corsa.

On Sunday night Sporty Stuff TV, the wide-ranging free-to-air sports channel, added yet more sporting action to its platform with the successful launch of US horse racing.

Every Sunday, Prairie Meadows in Iowa will be the staple track with Mark Francis hosting the coverage from 9.45pm, which will also feature occasional action from Louisiana Downs.

Kevan Moretti, chairman and CEO of SportyStuffTV Ltd commented: “This is an interesting development for our audience, the channel’s first coverage of overseas horse racing events.

“For this pilot, this new North American racing show will initially fill the late-night Sunday slot in our schedule, 21h45+, following-on from the close of Sunday’s greyhound racing “RPGTV” show. “We hope the viewers will find the expansion of our late-night live sports and racing content exciting and compelling viewing.

“Following the recent SportyStuffTV Snooker 900 tournament announcement, there are further new programming announcements we can look forward to in the coming weeks.”

Paul Witten, commercial director at SIS, commented: “Delivering the high-quality racing action from Prairie Meadows to SSTV is an exciting move for SIS, taking our partnership with the broadcaster to new heights.

“Over the last 12 months, we have expanded our premium greyhound racing coverage with SSTV, ensuring our content reaches the widest possible audience.

“Our US content complements the existing offering that we provide to SSTV, meaning that viewers and bettors can immerse themselves in yet more first-class racing across the day, underpinned by SIS’s expertise in live pictures and data provision.”

SportyStuff TV broadcasts greyhound racing seven evenings a week plus Saturday mornings and all-day Sundays, darts Monday to Friday mornings plus Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, with snooker due to commence in September.