Controversy continues over the appropriateness of e-sports as an official event at the Asian Games... Domestic medal benefit discussions are divided

Controversy over the appropriateness of the official event continues... Opinions are divided even on domestic medal benefits.

(Nagoya = Yonhap News) Reporter Kyung-yoon Kim = At the official press conference of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games eSports Puyo Puyo Champions Medalists, a question was raised about whether it would be appropriate to recognize some eSports events, such as Puyo Puyo, as official events in the Asian Games.

At the Puyo Puyo Champions medalist press conference held at Sky Expo in Aichi Prefecture, Japan on the 26th, a reporter asked the medalists, "What do you think about the view that still does not recognize e-sports as a field of sports?"

The players looked somewhat embarrassed.

Yuki Kurihara (Japan), who won this event as an 11-year-old elementary school student and broke the record as the youngest medal winner in Asian Games history, answered, "It's a difficult question. I will pass."

Other players emphasized that esports should be viewed from a popular perspective.

Bronze medalist Guo Ziang of Taiwan said, "Each individual may have a different perspective on whether it is a sport or not, but if you look at e-sports from the perspective of a game, I think it is a very suitable sport for the Asian Games." He added, "Especially if it is a popular game, it will be able to inspire many people like traditional sports."

Another bronze medalist, Thanarak Wong Kitikun (Thailand), said, “Many people enjoy games,” and added, “I think games can be recognized as a sport that competes with skill.”

Kang Dong-shin, who lost to Kurihara in the final that day and took the silver medal, said, "People's opinions are diverse," and added, "If you distinguish between correct and incorrect opinions, a clear conclusion will come out. Personally, I don't think anything is completely right."

After being held as a demonstration sport at the 2018 Jakarta/Palembang Games, e-sports became an official medal sport at the 2022 Hangzhou Games.

However, the debate surrounding whether e-sports can be included in the category of traditional sports continues.

Those who do not approve of e-sports point out that there is a relative lack of physical activity compared to traditional sports.

In addition, since e-sports basically uses commercial games developed and owned by game companies as a game platform, the game rules and survival of the game can be affected by the company's judgment and decisions, which is also considered to be a different factor from existing sports.

On the other hand, those in favor of including e-sports as an official event in the Asian Games emphasize that there are sports where judgment and strategy are important, such as chess or baduk, and that e-sports also involve players competing based on instantaneous judgment, reaction speed, and strategy execution ability.

In fact, Baduk was also held as an official event at the 2010 Guangzhou and 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Also, early this year, world-renowned professional gamer ‘Faker’ Lee Sang-hyeok received the Blue Dragon Medal of the Order of Sports Merit and was recognized by the government for his contribution to the development of sports.

The Blue Dragon Medal of Sports Merit is the highest rank among the sports medals received by the late Son Ki-jung, Pak Se-ri (golf), Kim Yu-na (ice skating), and Son Heung-min (soccer).

Lee Sang-hyuk will also participate in the e-sports event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

However, in Korea, the debate surrounding the adoption of e-sports as an official sport is likely to intensify given that Asian Games medals are linked to military service and sports pension.