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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.