CGTN’s exclusive interview with Wei Jizhong on eSports

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The vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), Wei Jizhong, has been involved in the organization for the past eight editions of the Asian Games. At 82 years old, the former FIVB president spent his life promoting the multi-sports competition. Now he is to witness another change, as eSports will become an official event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

In 2017, Ali Sports formed a strategic partnership with the OCA to promote eSports’ development in traditional sports tournaments. And Wei Jizhong has a clearer understanding of the problems besides just the content of the sport.

“And another problem is the management. So now our problem is to find a proper way for the management of eSports or E-games for competition,” said Wei

As the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is hosting meetings to discuss the addition of eSports as an official event in the Olympics, Wei thinks the sports’ popularity is enough to push organizers to try to find a way to accommodate the sport, and foresees an outcome where the digital discipline is contested on the world's biggest stage.

League of Legends will make debut eSports at the 2018 Asian Games. /VCG Photo

“If eSport is some of kind of lovely game for the youth. The only chance is the organizers, if they choose eSports as their chosen sport,” said Wei.

Professional gaming is not the only reform that the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games is going to have, as the G20 summit host China is planning to introduce new high-tech elements to the Games.

“Hangzhou is trying their best to make new contributions to the Olympics movement. Using the new technique to bring the Asian Games to a new level,” Wei added.

Sport in Asia is entering a new era. China will host the 6th Asian Beach Games in 2020 in Hainan, before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which are ahead of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.