‘Focus and perseverance’: UT boy Charanjot looks to bag India’s first Esports medal

As a young kid, Charanjot Singh would often spend time with his friends playing video games at his home or at their homes in the neighborhood of Sector 44, Chandigarh.
While Charanjot did not have his own gaming console, he would spend time at his friend’s homes to play video games often. Later, he persuaded his parents Manjeet Singh and Jaskirat Kaur to get him his own gaming console. Last week, Singh was named as one of the two FIFA 22 players and a member of the 18-player Esports contingent selected the Esports Federation of India for the 2022 Asian Games which will be held in Hangzhou, China, sometime next year.
Though earlier this week, the Asian Games were postponed due to the Covid-19 situation in China to next year, Charanjot, who returned from London on Thursday, sounded confident about his chances at the big event and termed the delay as a blessing.
“It’s a special feeling for me as this will be the first time that Esports will be a medal event at the Asian Games. To represent your country in such an event is always special. My parents as well as relatives and friends have been feeling proud. My aim will be to give my best and win a medal for India in the Games. Obviously, the stakes will be high and it will not be that easy. Like any player, I am a bit disappointed at the postponement of the Asian Games, but that also means that we will have more time to prepare,” says the 19-year-old youngster, who is a student of PML SD College, Sector 32.

In 2018, Charanjot won the EA Road to Russia event that was held in Chandigarh. Last year, the youngster was crowned the champion in the All India Football Federation Football Challenge 2021, which saw a total of top 16 Eathletes competing.
The win meant that Charanjot — along with Vignesh Balaji, Siddh Chandarana and Lokmanyu Chaturvedi — were selected for the Indian eTigers team for the FIFA eNations Series 2021. Charanjot and Siddh finished third in the FIFAe Nations Online Qualifiers in May last year and missed out on a spot in the FIFAe Nations Cup in Denmark.
India ended the 2021 FIFA Season with a global ranking of 22.
“Initially when I played with my friends, I only saw playing video games as a hob. But as my interest grew, I started thinking of competing professionally. I started initially with a PlayStation 3 console. Later, I persuaded my parents to get me a PlayStation 4 and now a PlayStation 5 console to play competitive eSports. I started playing GTA, Call of Duty and Fortnight initially before shifting to FIFA 21. Winning the title in AIFF eFootball Challenge and later representing India in the FIFAe Nations Cup qualifiers was a huge motivation for me and helped my confidence a lot. Scoring a win against world champion Mosaad “Msdossary” Aldossary in FIFAe Nations Cup qualifiers was a special moment for me,” sahred Charanjot, who calls former Call of Duty world champion Seth Scump Abner his idol.

Charanjot played in the FIFA 22 Global Series Team of the season cup in London earlier this week and finished among the top 32. In the National Esports Championship 2022, conducted Esports Federation of India, the youngster outclassed Kaman Singh Tikka 4-1 and 6-5 in the FIFA 22 grand finals to book his berth for the Asian Games.
The Asian Games, as per details, will see a total of 18 Indian players competing inFIFA, Street Fighter V, Hearthstone, DOTA2 and League of Legends. Charanjot and Kaman Tikka will feature in FIFAe event.