IFTA 2026: India has voted. See the winners.

India has one of the world’s largest gaming audiences, but at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya its 15-member esports contingent entered four of the 11 medal events and won nothing. A Business Standard analysis published on 6 November argues the gap is preparation, not talent. The next test is already under way at the first Esports Nations Cup in Riyadh, where Indian teams are competing through November.

Two young men playing a video game with controllers

What happened in Japan

India’s best finish came in Puyo Puyo Champions, a puzzle game. Its player, Paritosh, finished third in Group B with two wins and two losses, including a 3-0 win over Mongolia’s Munkhzorig Ganbold and a 3-2 win over Singapore’s Koh Mun June Justin, Outlook India reported. In the quarter-final on 26 September he lost 0-5 to South Korea’s Kang Dongshin, who went on to the semi-finals.

No Indian went further. Akshaj Shenoy, who captained India’s League of Legends team at the last two Asian Games, told Business Standard: “The biggest gap was in the depth of preparation.” The report notes that Indian national teams are often put together in a hurry, while established esports organisations run regular practice, coaching and match reviews.

A big audience, thin pathways

The player base is not the problem. Business Standard, citing Niko Partners, puts India at about 511 million video game players in 2025, with player spending of $1.04 billion, up 14.8 per cent on the year. About 95 per cent of them play on mobile.

Mobile titles with heavy publisher investment have built real circuits. Krafton’s Battlegrounds Mobile India Pro Series 2024 drew nearly 4.94 lakh peak concurrent viewers and over 11 million hours watched across 154 broadcast hours, according to Esports Charts data cited in the report. Krafton says its tournaments have drawn nearly 10 lakh registrations in four years, and its College Campus Tour reached 128 colleges and over 75,000 students in 2025-26.

But that model is specific to one game, the report notes. Across the wider scene, a FICCI-EY report using Nodwin Gaming data counted 36 professional teams in India in 2024 and ₹18.7 crore in prize money across major tournaments. EY did not independently verify those figures.

The club gap

Structured teams matter, and India has just lost one of its best known. Global Esports, founded in India in 2017, announced on 19 October that it is leaving competitive esports to build GE Studios, an AI-focused venture, The Bridge reported. The exit came weeks after its best season: it won the VCT Pacific Stage 2 title in September and played at Valorant Champions in Shanghai.

Founder and CEO Rushindra Sinha said Riot Games’ revised partnership structure made it hard to guarantee roster continuity. Global Esports was the only South Asian organisation in the VCT Pacific partnership programme, so that direct seat is now gone.

Riyadh is the next test

The Esports Nations Cup runs in Riyadh from 2 to 29 November, with players competing for their countries rather than clubs. Nodwin Gaming is India’s national team partner and appointed the coaches. India has qualified in six titles, including Valorant, Rocket League, chess and Trackmania, according to The Bridge.

The Rocket League event, running 2 to 8 November, has 48 national teams and a prize pool of $1.32 million. India got there by finishing in the top three of the Asia Pacific qualifier, beating Bangladesh 4-1 in the lower bracket final. Chess players Nihal Sarin and Mitrabha Guha and Trackmania’s Kunal Upreti have also qualified, ANI reported.

What to watch

The Valorant event starts on 8 November and runs to 15 November, with 32 teams and a $1.5 million prize pool. The format is four round-robin groups of eight, with the top four from each group reaching a 16-team knockout. India came through the Asia qualifier the hard way, losing 5-13 to Japan in the upper bracket before beating Hong Kong 2-0 in the lower bracket final. Venkatesh “Venky” Sharma’s 117 eliminations across six matches were the most of any player in those qualifiers.

A playoff place would be a clear step up from Aichi. An early exit would add weight to Shenoy’s point that preparation, not player numbers, decides results. Also watch whether more Indian organisations follow Global Esports out of club competition, and how many esports titles get registered under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, which came into force on 1 May 2026 and covers esports.