In an interview with The Indian Express, Suji spoke about the growth of esports worldwide and an ambition for it to be recognised by the Indian Government.

"There are 100-plus countries that have esports federations working under their sports framework," Suji said.

"Governments of countries like South Korea, Denmark, Finland, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Brazil, Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, Georgia, South Africa, Serbia etcetera have already recognised esports as a sport and have put it under the sports framework and policies."

Suji credits the COVID-19 pandemic for giving esports in India a boost and believes the country can build on its third-place performance at the 2018 Asian Games, when espotrs was a demonstration sport.

"India will be the next powerhouse in esports," he added.

"We have approximately 300 million esports enthusiasts."

Suji also claimed that confusion over how to classify esports has stunted its growth, saying that esports athletes, organisers and other involved parties pay a 35 per cent entertainment tax rather than 20 per cent sports tax.

"This itself hampers the growth of esports in our country in a significant manner, as players don't get the benefits of sports quota like other sports," Suji explained, as reported by The Indian Express.

"Recognition by our Sports Ministry is the need of the hour to clear this confucsion prevailing at large in India.

"Lot of talent dies early due to lack of parental support; recognition will help in overcoming this major bottleneck.

"This recognition will lead to a spree of initiatives both from ESFI and private players, be it via coaching, infrastructure support, sponsorships, or events with massive prize pools."

Suji went to on to paint a vision of esports academies in every corner of India, as is the case with cricket.

ESFI recently rolled out national rankings for the games Call of Duty, Valorant and Free Fire.

Per talkesports, Indian Olympic Association secretary general Rajeev Mehta has said formal recognition of esports and the ESFI will be considered at the next Executive Council meeting.