Mumbai: Showcasing his gaming prowess against the continent’s best athletes, Hemanth Kommu (peshemak7) produced scintillating performances to prevail in the Asian qualifiers and secure his spot at the prestigious Global Esports Games (GEG). With South Asia having only two slots for the GEG 2023, Kommu performed to the best of his abilities to emerge as one of the representatives from the region.
In a dominating journey towards qualification, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) alumnus clinched impressive victories against Bangladesh (2-0), Maldives (2-1), Nepal (2-0), and Sri Lanka (2-0) in the best-of-three matches. The 26-year-old’s only defeat came against Pakistan in a closely contested 1-2 loss.
Expressing his excitement about the qualification, Hemanth Kommu commented, “I am thrilled and honoured to have secured a spot at the Global Esports Games 2023. The Asian qualifiers were intense, but I was able to secure qualification with my dedication and relentless practice. This will be the second consecutive year that I will be representing India at the tournament and I hope to achieve a podium finish this time. I am grateful to the ESFI for their support and hope to make our country proud in Riyadh.”
Kommu secured his qualification to the Asian qualifiers after being crowned champion of the National Esports Championships (NESC) 2023 organized by the Esports Federation of India (ESFI). The high-voltage qualifiers witnessed the participation of India’s 18 eFootball 2023 athletes, including the country’s representative at the recently concluded World Esports Championships 2023, Ibrahim Gulrez.
“We would like to congratulate Hemanth Kommu for his outstanding performance in the Asian qualifiers and for securing a spot at the GEG 2023. Being a well-renowned name within the eFootball 2023 landscape, we believe his journey will inspire the country’s next generation of athletes to excel in the title. We look forward to Hemanth's performance on the global stage and are confident that he will bring laurels to the nation," said The Esports Federation of India (ESFI) director and Asian Esports Federation vice-president Lokesh Suji.
One of the country's top sports and Esports communication agencies, Artsmith-Concepts & Visions, will continue its support to the Esports Federation of India as its official communication partner.
The Global Esports Games 2023, a flagship event of the Global Esports Federation will be staged in Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from December 12-17, 2023. The global, multi-title Esports competition will feature four major titles: DOTA 2, Street Fighter, eFootball 2023, and PUBG Mobile, and will witness the participation of over 950 athletes hailing from more than 100 nations and territories across the globe.
Alongside Kommu, India's Street Fighter 6 athlete Mayank Prajapati (MiKeYROG) also came close to securing a spot in the Global Esports Games but narrowly missed out on the qualification. Mayank, who recently represented India at the Asian Games 2022 in Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, won three of his five games in the qualifiers and missed out on the global finals only by two points.
