Kathmandu, August 18
Nepal’s PUBG team secured a place at the 20th Asian Games after a strong performance in the qualification tournament in Vietnam. But the team will now miss the Games after esports bodies and the government failed to resolve a dispute over which organisation should represent the country.
The Nepali PUBG team qualified for the Asian Games on June 21 after finishing seventh in the qualifier held in Vietnam from June 13 to 21.
The team consisted of Samir Costello (Zyo), Rohit Tamang (Zordy), Deepesh Gurung (Delta X), Saurav Tamang (TMG-8) and Sonu Karki (Biabia).
The qualification had raised hopes that Nepal could win a medal in Japan. Nepal’s PUBG team had finished fifth at the 19th Asian Games in China, narrowly missing out on a medal.
However, the National Sports Council (NSC) announced on August 11 that Nepal would participate in 22 sports at the Asian Games, with esports, including PUBG, excluded from the final list.
The decision has left the qualified players unable to compete despite having secured their place through the official qualification process.
The players recently held a press conference questioning why they were being denied the opportunity to compete after qualifying for the Games. They have now been forced to seek legal intervention.
One game, two associations
At the centre of the dispute is the existence of two esports associations in Nepal.
The Nepal Esports Association (NESA) is recognised by the Asian Electronic Sports Federation and has been involved in sending Nepali players to international competitions.
The Esports Association of Nepal (ESAN), meanwhile, is registered with the NSC and claims official recognition to conduct esports activities in Nepal.
The National Sports Development Act 2020 provides for only one association for each sport. However, both organisations currently exist and claim authority over esports in Nepal.
According to ESAN president Anjan Dhamala, the NSC initially received a long list of players recommended by ESAN. However, the list did not include the players who had qualified in Vietnam.
“We submitted the names of the teams that had won the previous competition as the long list to the Ministry of Sports,” Dhamala said. “NESA did not inform the government that the team had qualified.”
ESAN later informed the NSC that it would not participate in the Asian Games after the players it had recommended were not selected.
The NSC says the decision not to include esports in the Asian Games was made based on ESAN’s letter.
The council has also claimed that it attempted to coordinate with NESA but did not receive a response.
NESA, however, has rejected the allegations and accused the government of preventing qualified players from representing Nepal.
NESA president Suraj Dangol said the team selection and subsequent procedures had been completed according to international requirements and protocols.
Government, associations trade blame
The dispute intensified over the deadline for registering athletes for the Asian Games.
Education and Sports Minister Sasmit Pokharel has said NESA failed to submit the players’ names by the June 15 deadline.
“We cannot directly submit names without the recommendation of the sports association. We had kept a place open for esports until the last day and were ready to submit the names as soon as they arrived. But the names never came,” Pokharel said.
He claimed NESA contacted the government only after the deadline had expired.
NESA president Dangol disputed the minister’s claim, saying the association had repeatedly tried to contact the government.
“We continuously followed up. When we tried to meet the minister, we were not given an appointment,” Dangol said.
He also claimed that even when the players themselves approached the NSC, officials refused to register them.
“We went for registration even before leaving for the qualifiers, but they refused to register us. They behaved as if they did not recognise NESA. Even when the players went themselves later, they were not registered,” he said.
ESAN president Dhamala, meanwhile, blamed NESA for the situation.
“The players are the ones who have suffered because they cannot participate in the Asian Games, and that is unfortunate. But NESA is primarily responsible for this,” he said.
Players caught in the middle
NESA says it made several attempts to ensure that the qualified players could participate, including offering to send the team at its own expense.
“Our main concern is the players. We wanted them to be able to compete. There was a strong possibility of winning a medal in PUBG this time,” Dangol said.
“We even told the government that we would bear the expenses ourselves and only needed approval to participate, but our request was not heard.”
ESAN says a compromise could have been reached if both organisations had worked together.
“No one was supposed to go through ESAN alone. The state could have made a decision and both sides could have sat together to select and send the team in the interest of the players. But NESA was not flexible on that,” Dhamala said.
For the players who qualified through competition, however, the dispute between the two organisations has come at a heavy cost. Their Asian Games dream now hangs in the balance, despite Nepal having already secured its place on the field.
