Esports in India — Academies, Trials, Schemes & Athletes

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Wikipedia — Esports Federation of India, The Tribune/ANI, Business Standard, Telangana Today — NESC 2026 coverage, ESPN — Asian Games 2023 esports coverage, The Hans India — OCA 2026 esports programme expansion, News on Air — Pavan Kampelli Asian Esports Games bronze, Entrepreneur India — Rise of esports in India. These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: Modern
Category: Emerging
Olympic discipline: No
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Federation and state pathway
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 0

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: ESFI
Ministry recognition: Not currently verified
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: Not currently verified
TOPS eligibility: Not currently verified
Olympic status: Not on the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Esports is listed on SportSupport in the emerging category. Its recorded origin is Modern. It is not on the Olympic programme. We list ESFI as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

ESFI has been the de facto national governing body since 2016 and was recognised for government cash incentives in 2025–26. However, SOGF (Skillhub Online Games Federation) replaced ESFI as India's member in the International Esports Federation (IESF) and Global Esports Federation (GEF) in September 2025, and the national federation landscape is consolidating as of 2026 — the eventual unified governing body name may change.

Esports has a federation and state-level pathway in India, and athletes selected through ESFI may be eligible for state sports-quota employment and state cash awards where their state notifies the discipline. TOPS does not apply, as the discipline is outside the Olympic programme.

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for esports athletes in India.

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Stipend, boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to esports.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria at Asian, Commonwealth or World Championship level — Government of India. Whether a given esports event counts depends on the scheme's notified list.
State sports quota and government employment
Many states reserve government and public-sector posts for national-level medallists. Which esports events and which certifying bodies a state accepts varies by state, so check your state's current notification.

Explore all government schemes →

Indian Players

No profiles yet

No athlete profiles are recorded for esports yet. We only list athletes we can source, so this section stays empty until verifiable profiles exist.

Browse the full athlete directory →

Rules

Competitive esports has no single rulebook — each title has its own format, and international events adopt the publisher's competitive ruleset plus the organizer's tournament regulations. Asian Games and IESF/GEF events run title-specific brackets (group stage into single or double elimination, best-of-three or best-of-five series) on standardized hardware and patched game versions supplied by the organizer. Common cross-title rules cover player eligibility and age limits, roster locks, anti-cheat and hardware/peripheral checks, pause and remake procedures for technical faults, coaching-communication windows, and conduct penalties for toxicity or match-fixing. Anti-doping rules apply as in any recognized sport, and results are decided by in-game outcomes verified by referees and match logs.

Authoritative rulebook: ESFI. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across emerging sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced esports squad list.

Attacker / offensive role
The point-scoring position in the sport's playing format.
Defender
Prevents the opposition from scoring and controls the defensive zone.
All-rounder / substitute
Rotates through roles or comes in as a tactical substitute.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in esports at a federation-recognised event.

Tournament-standard PC or console supplied by the organizer, on a locked game version
Player-owned peripherals within regulations: mouse, mechanical keyboard, controller/fight stick, headset
Mobile-title events use organizer-supplied handsets and finger sleeves
Noise-cancelling headset plus in-ear monitors for on-stage play
Reliable low-latency internet and practice-facility access for online qualifiers and bootcamps

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Esports Federation of India

Esports Federation of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Esports. We hold no confirmed Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so nothing here states that it is currently recognised.

Origin: Modern
Olympic: No
Paralympic: No
Category: Emerging

ESFI profile →All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in esports.

National Esports Championships (NESC)
Organized by the Esports Federation of India (ESFI, founded 2016, headquartered in New Delhi, affiliated to the International Esports Federation, Asian Electronic Sports Federation and Global Esports Federation). NESC 2026 (registrations Feb 21-Mar 7, 2026) selects India's squad for the 2026 Asian Games across 10 titles including Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, The King of Fighters XV, Pokémon Unite, League of Legends, PUBG Mobile (Asian Games Version), Puyo Puyo, Naraka: Bladepoint, eFootball and Gran Turismo.
WAVES Esports Championship (WESC)
A government-backed national championship, adding public-sector legitimacy and sponsorship pathways to the sport.

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in esports.

Asian Games
Tirth Mehta ('gcttirth') won India's first-ever esports medal — bronze in Hearthstone — at Jakarta 2018, when esports was a demonstration event. At Hangzhou 2023, esports became a full medal sport, but India could only compete in 4 of the 7 titles because Arena of Valor and Peace Elite were banned in India and Dream Three Kingdoms 2 was unavailable — and Hearthstone, India's one proven medal event, was dropped from the programme entirely. At Aichi-Nagoya 2026, India will contest 10 of 13 titles across 8 medal events, with up to 24 medal opportunities.
Commonwealth Esports Championship
India won bronze in DOTA 2 at the 2022 edition, held alongside the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Asian Esports Games / BRICS Esports Championship
Pavan Kampelli ('Mr. Tomboy') won India's first-ever medal at the Asian Esports Games — bronze in eFootball, Bangkok 2024. India also won silver in Tekken 8 at the BRICS Esports Championship.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for esports. The national championship under ESFI remains the top domestic competition.

All leagues →

International Players

Globally recognised esports athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for esports maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in esports — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

A key regulatory milestone: the Indian government formally recognized esports as a legitimate sport distinct from iGaming, betting and gambling — a distinction ESFI leadership has repeatedly emphasized as critical to the sport's legitimacy and sponsorship prospects
ESFI has been sending Indian teams to international competitions since 2007, a decade before its formal 2016 incorporation
The national governing landscape is still consolidating: SOGF (Skillhub Online Games Federation) replaced ESFI as India's member body in the International Esports Federation and Global Esports Federation in September 2025, so the eventual unified apex body may differ from the one named above
A real structural constraint: several major Asian Games esports titles are banned or unavailable in India, meaning Indian athletes sometimes cannot compete in events where medals are available — at Hangzhou 2023 this cost India three of seven possible events
ESFI organized India's inaugural all-female CS:GO qualifiers in 2023, opening a dedicated women's competitive pathway
Playing pathway through NESC qualifiers; allied careers include coaching, team management, broadcasting/casting and event organization as the ecosystem professionalizes

Explore sports careers →Coaches directory →

Related academies

0 listed

No esports academies are catalogued in the directory yet. Browse the full academy list or list your academy to appear here.

All academies →List your academy →

FAQs

Common questions about esports in India.

Who governs Esports in India?▾

We list ESFI as the Indian governing/organising body for Esports, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Esports an Olympic sport?▾

No, Esports is not on the Olympic programme.

How do I start playing Esports in India?▾

The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under ESFI. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Esports athletes?▾

TOPS does not apply, as Esports is outside the Olympic programme. State-government cash awards or sports-quota employment can apply where a state notifies the discipline, which varies by state. Esports does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Esports in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Esports in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.

Esports