Reality bytes: Taekwondo exponent, racer and sailor show gaming chops at e-sports Olympic event
Olympic e-sports competitor Jadon Yu, 14, who is participating in virtual taekwondo.
SINGAPORE — Anyone who thinks e-sports are passive should watch 14-year-old taekwondo exponent Jadon Yu in action at a first-of-its-type international event underway in Singapore under the banner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Jadon, a Secondary 2 student at Guangyang Secondary School, is the youngest of the 17-member Team Singapore at the inaugural Olympic Esports Series Week 2023 being held in front of three giant screens at Suntec City Convention and Exhibition Centre.
In a nod to regular Olympics, an opening ceremony was held on Thursday (June 22). About 100 players from more than 60 countries are competing across 10 e-sports during the competition, which wraps up on Sunday.
Jadon, who took up taekwondo when he was aged five, said making the physical fighting moves with a virtual reality (VR) headset shares similarities with the traditional sport, but has some notable advantages.
"I think it's interesting that we can compete purely based on skills," said Jadon, explaining that e-sport taekwondo means that he can compete against opponents of different weight categories, genders and sizes.
"I was very excited when I got the offer because it's the Olympics. I didn't even think I would get selected," Jadon said, adding that it “combines two things I enjoy, playing video games and taekwondo".
Traditional taekwondo is also a sport at the regular Summer Olympic Games.
The inaugural Olympic Esports Series Week is part of an effort by the Olympic movement under IOC President Thomas Bach to remain relevant to young people and embrace technological advances, Reuters reported.
"It's really part of our global strategy," said Mr Vincent Pereira, who was appointed the IOC's first head of virtual sport in January last year.
"We've launched the brand Olympic Esports, and Olympic Esports Week here in Singapore is the first ever — super excited about it," he said.
Other members of Team Singapore include 1998 Asian Games champion sailor Colin Ng and motorsport racer Ar Muhammad Aleef.
In contrast to the taekwondo competition, sailing is one of the sports where the e-sports version involves a screen game and essentially nothing of the physical aspect of the traditional on-water pursuit.
Mr Ng, 44, a champion traditional-style sailor from the 1998 Asian Games, said he was honoured to represent Singapore in this format which is played out through an application called Virtual Regatta Inshore.
“Transferable skills are realistic regards to tactics and strategy, (but) the physical aspect of trying to feel the wind and balance on the boat relies on trust(ing) your vision and data,” said Mr Ng, a studio production manager with Mediacorp news and current affairs.
“Now everything needs to be done with my thumbs and eyeballing data points which I am not used to staring at.”
Mr Ng, who plays the game during his free time, said that he transitioned to the game when Covid-19 started.
“I still wanted to race but we couldn’t race back on the water so I got my fix from racing (through this app).
“Local sailors currently use the application as it takes a bit of the competitiveness out of sailing and acts as a de-stressor,” he said.
He hopes that the app can help “to educate young sailors, act as an outreach platform to people who do not sail or those who feel like sailing is out of reach or too expensive”.
In the case of motorsports, the e-sports version includes some elements of the traditional sport such as holding a steering wheel.
Mr Aleef, 24, who started e-racing since he was nine years old, told TODAY: “I dreamt of being a Formula One driver when I grew up, but I didn’t have the money (to pursue my dreams).”
As a young aspiring racer, Mr Aleef “tried driving the motor racing simulation at various roadshows as a kid at Formula One whenever it came to Singapore, that’s where I learnt how to drive because I couldn’t afford a rig”.
He believes that e-racing will allow for much more inclusion for aspiring competitors by “taking away the barrier to entry”. He added that “you don’t need the best equipment… and still be a world champion”.
Mr Aleef, an undergraduate studying business analytics, has performed creditably in various e-racing competitions globally such as the FIA Motorsport Games last year in France where he finished in seventh place in a field 52 countries.
He also had the opportunity to test-drive a real Formula Three car in Malaysia when he won the SIM Racing Championships 2020.
Mr Aleef will go up against the world’s best drivers in the e-racing game Gran Turismo 7.
“(Participating in the Olympic Esports Series) is only going to be a win-win situation, I am competing against the world’s best, which means there is so much to learn,” Mr Aleef said.
