NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's Mu Xinyue became the first female athlete to win an Asian Games esports gold medal after China defeated Japan in the Identity V Asian Games Version final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday.
China's Identity V squad consists of hunters Shi Xiangwei and Sun Le, and survivors Lu Shujia, Chen Mingming, Lu Yahui, Fan Siqi and Mu. Mu, whose in-game ID is "Tao Wan'an," is the only female member of China's esports delegation at the Games.
The final was interrupted by a technical issue between the two halves of the fourth round, with play suspended for nearly 30 minutes before competition resumed.
Esports made its Asian Games debut as a demonstration sport at Jakarta 2018 before becoming an official medal sport at Hangzhou in 2023. The number of medal events has increased from seven in Hangzhou to 11 at Aichi-Nagoya, with Identity V Asian Games Version making its Asian Games debut.
Although esports events at the Asian Games are open to both male and female athletes, men continue to make up the overwhelming majority of registered athletes. According to registration data for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, more than 500 athletes were registered for esports, with only 14 of them women.
China entered four of the 11 esports events at Aichi-Nagoya -- Naraka: Bladepoint, Honor of Kings, Game for Peace Asian Games Version and Identity V Asian Games Version. China won gold in Naraka: Bladepoint and Honor of Kings and silver in Game for Peace Asian Games Version before adding the Identity V gold on Wednesday, concluding its esports campaign with three gold medals and one silver. ■
