ESPORTS JAKARTA EHONORS

JAKARTA : Skinny, pale and sitting in front of a computer, Lee Sang-hyeok doesn't look much like traditional Olympic athlete.

But that is exactly what he and his fellow professional esports gamers could be if demonstrations held at the  Asian Games in Jakarta this week prove successful.

Esports will appear at major multi-sport event for the first time on Sunday, raising the possibility of  gamers earning the same Olympic gold medals as those won by American swimmer Michael Phelps of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.

Six titles titles, starting with Areana of Valor and including League of Legends [LOL] and Pro  Evolution Soccer [PES], will feature, in what could be the first step towards inclusion in the Olympic Games.

In November last year, the International Olympic Committee recognised esports as a sporting activity  and it will be a full medal event at the 2022 Asian Games.

For gamers like Lee, who goes by the  online  moniker ''Faker'' this is a chance to show the world they belong among the world's top athletes.

''Sports doesn't mean you must sweat,'' said Lee, who is the highest earning player in LOL history with a career income over $1,740,000  according to esport-earnings. com.

''Gaming uses a lot of  mental skill rather than physical. It takes a lot of mental strength and requires a lot of efforts and tough training, so I think esports could be even tougher than any other sports.

''I think it is unfair to say that a sport depends on whether one sweats.'

Demonstration Sport : It is a demonstration sport this time around, yet organisers hope events in Jakarta will prove to sceptics that gamers belong in the same programme as marathon runners, boxers and soccer players.

This could open up questions about what defines professional sport and potentially change the gynamic of top-tier sporting competition forever.

There is, however, no denying of  popularity of esports.

Professional electronic gaming boasts an estimated  250 million players worldwide in a growing  market worth about a 1 billion dollars a year. [Agencies]

The Honor and Serving of the latest Operational Research on Esports continues.