Gaming
India’s Esports contingent concludes historic debut campaign at Asian Games 2022
Mumbai: India’s 15-member Esports contingent wrapped up its remarkable journey at the ongoing Asian Games 2022 as the nation’s DOTA 2 team exited the competition at the China Hangzhou Esports Centre on Friday.
The DOTA 2 squad led by skipper Darshan Bata (A35), and comprising Krish Gupta (Krish-), Abhishek Yadav (Abhi-), Ketan Goyal (Evil-Ash), and Shubham Goli (Madness) endured a 0-1 defeat against Kyrgyzstan in their opening group game before going down 0-1 against the Philippines in the second group stage game to bow out of the competition.
In what was Esports’ debut as an official medal sport at the prestigious tournament, India had participated in four of the seven total titles namely: DOTA 2, League of Legends, EA Sports FC Online, and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition.
“We are proud of our Esports athletes’ resolute efforts and gritty performances at the Asian Games 2022. Each and every athlete from the contingent is an inspiration for India’s budding Esports community that wants to represent their country in Esports. This tournament has provided an invaluable experience and motivation for our Esports athletes to build upon and enhance their gameplay for the future,” said Esports Federation of India director and Asian Esports Federation (AESF) VP Lokesh Suji.
India’s prolific League of Legends team captained by Akshaj Shenoy (Kai), and comprising Samarth Arvind Trivedi (CrankO), Mihir Ranjan (Lotus), Sanindhya Malik (Deadcorp), Aakash Shandilya (Infi), Aditya Selvaraj (Krow) finished fifth at 19th Asian Games after suffering a hard-fought 0-2 defeat against Vietnam in the quarter finals.
The country’s star EA Sports FC Online athlete, Charanjot Singh, secured the ninth place out of a total pool of 36 leading athletes from the continent in this competition. The 20-year-old began his campaign with a 0:2 defeat to China’s Liu Jiacheng in the Round of 32 but bounced back strongly with three consecutive wins against Aristorenas Jorrel of Philippines, Alrowaihi RKM of Bahrain, and Yessentayev Olzhas of Kazakhstan in the Losers Bracket Round 1, 2, and 3 respectively.
However, his campaign came to an end after enduring another 0-2 defeat against Liu Jiacheng of China in the Losers Bracket Round 4. His compatriot Karman Singh exited the competition after going down by 1-2 against Aldhafiri Meshari of Kuwait in the Losers Bracket Round 2.
“Despite the competition being fierce, our League of Legends team secured a remarkable fifth-place finish, while Charanjot Singh achieved a commendable ninth place among the continent’s top EA Sports FC Online athletes. We are now eagerly anticipating the Asian Games 2026, where Esports will once again be an official medal sport, and our full-strength Indian contingent will give their all in pursuit of glory,” added Lokesh Suji.
In Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, the talented Ayan Biswas clinched a Top 16 place for India. He began his campaign on a winning note against Nguyen Khanh Hung Chau of Vietnam from the Round of 32 suffering a defeat against Alrayfal Abdulrahman Salem A of Saudi Arabia in the Winners Bracket Round 1. He then beat Vietnam’s Nguyen again by 2-0 in the Losers Bracket Round 2 but fell short against Yeh Man Ho of Hong Kong in the Losers Bracket Round 3.
Ayan’s teammate, Mayank Prajapati began his tournament against Rajikhan Talal Fuad T of Saudi Arabia and fought valiantly in a fiercely contested 1-2 defeat. He then endured another loss against Al-Mannai Abdulla of Qatar by 0-2 in the Losers Bracket Round 1 and exited the tournament.
Having been featured as a demonstration event in 2018, Esports made its full-fledged debut as an official medal sport at the Asian Games 2022 where a total of 476 athletes from 30 different countries competed for gold medals in seven different titles.
Gaming
Bluestone FY26 revenue rises to Rs 2,436 crore, turns profitable
Q4 profit at Rs 31 crore, full-year profit at Rs 13 crore vs loss last year.
MUMBAI: From sparkle to numbers, Bluestone seems to be polishing more than just jewellery this year. Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited reported a sharp turnaround in FY26, with revenue from operations rising to Rs 2,436 crore (Rs 24,364 million), up from Rs 1,770 crore (Rs 17,700 million) in FY25. The company posted a full-year profit of Rs 13 crore (Rs 131.79 million), a significant recovery from a loss of Rs 222 crore (Rs 2,218 million) a year ago.
Total income for the year stood at Rs 2,486 crore (Rs 24,860 million), compared to Rs 1,830 crore (Rs 18,300 million) in the previous year, reflecting both topline growth and improved operational momentum.
The March quarter, however, told a more nuanced story. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 681 crore (Rs 6,814 million), down from Rs 748 crore (Rs 7,486 million) in the year-ago period, though higher than Rs 461 crore (Rs 4,613 million) in the preceding December quarter. Net profit for Q4 stood at Rs 31 crore (Rs 311.81 million), compared to Rs 68 crore (Rs 688 million) a year earlier, but a clear reversal from a loss of Rs 51 crore (Rs 512 million) in Q3.
Margins were shaped by higher input costs, with raw material consumption rising to Rs 2,204 crore (Rs 22,043 million) for the full year, alongside employee benefit expenses of Rs 282 crore (Rs 2,824 million) and finance costs of Rs 210 crore (Rs 2,104 million). Other expenses came in at Rs 371 crore (Rs 3,715 million), slightly lower than Rs 393 crore (Rs 3,938 million) in FY25.
On the balance sheet front, total assets expanded to Rs 4,961 crore (Rs 49,610 million) as of March 31, 2026, from Rs 3,532 crore (Rs 35,322 million) a year earlier, driven largely by a surge in inventories to Rs 2,672 crore (Rs 26,718 million). Equity also strengthened to Rs 1,803 crore (Rs 18,030 million), nearly doubling from Rs 911 crore (Rs 9,107 million).
Cash flows reflected the cost of growth. Net cash used in operating activities stood at Rs 199 crore (Rs 1,990 million), while investing activities saw an outflow of Rs 239 crore (Rs 2,392 million). Financing activities, however, generated Rs 497 crore (Rs 4,971 million), helping the company end the year with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 108 crore (Rs 1,075 million), up from Rs 49 crore (Rs 487 million).
Earnings per share for FY26 came in at Rs 1.10, a sharp improvement from a negative Rs 79.74 in FY25, underlining the shift from losses to profitability.
With revenue scaling up, costs still glittering on the higher side, and profitability finally back in the black, BlueStone’s FY26 performance suggests a business mid-transition less about shine alone, and more about sustaining it.
