A total of 77 players from 11 National Olympic Committees have qualified for the finals in the e-sports competition at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games ©Getty Images

A total of 77 players from 11 National Olympic Committees have qualified for the finals in the e-sports competition at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) in Ashgabat, organisers have revealed.

E-sports is on the programme for the event in Turkmenistan, which begins on September 17 and concludes on September 27, as a demonstration sport.

Medals won in any of the four e-sports competitions on the programme will therefore not be counted on the overall standings.

Players from China, Chinese Taipei, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Iran, Jordan, Pakistan and the host nation are set to take part, with e-sports events at Ashgabat due to be held from September 25 to 27.

A qualification process to determine the finalists took place from August 11 to 13 with a series of regional competitions.

Ashgabat 2017 have also confirmed the four e-sports events which will be staged at the AIMAG.

Competitions will be held in Defence of the Ancients 2, a multiplayer online battle arena video game, strategy card game Hearthstone, StarCraft II - a real-time strategy game - and The King of Fighters XIV.

E-sports at the 2017 edition of the AIMAG will be organised by Ashgabat 2017, as well as the Asian E-sports Federation.

Players from China, Chinese Taipei, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Iran, Jordan, Pakistan and the host nation are set to take part in Ashgabat ©Getty Images
Players from China, Chinese Taipei, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Iran, Jordan, Pakistan and the host nation are set to take part in Ashgabat ©Getty Images

Technical support will be provided by Alisports, a division of International Olympic Committee TOP Sponsor Alibaba, and marketing company Duo Sport Group.

Organisers of the AIMAG will be hoping to capitalise on the growing popularity of e-sports worldwide but its inclusion on the programme has been at the centre of a row in the lead-up to the event.

In June, Olympic Council of Asia officials defended the way in which the demonstration event is being prepared after a South Korean group announced it was leading a boycott.

The OCA and Alisports, together with Sina Corporation and Yunfeng Capital in Shanghai, announced a strategic partnership in April to organise and promote the event.

Under the terms of the deal, demonstration events are scheduled to take place at Ashgabat 2017 and the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesian cities Jakarta and Palembang.

E-sports will become a full medal event at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou in China.

The South Korean e-Sports Association (KeSPA) announced they would not participate in Turkmenistan's capital because of the involvement of Alisports as organisers rather than the International e-Sports Federation (IeSF).

IeSF secretary general Lim told insidethegames in June that the organisation still sees Ashgabat 2017 as a good platform to showcase e-sports.