Once a snooker player, this Singaporean will now compete in Street Fighter at the Asian Games
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Singapore
Once a snooker player, this Singaporean will now compete in Street Fighter at the Asian Games
In the first of three features on athletes who will feature in Hangzhou, CNA's Matthew Mohan speaks to a man whose journey has taken him from the arcade to the Asian Games.
Brandon Chia will represent Singapore in Street Fighter V at the upcoming Asian Games. (Photo: CNA/Matthew Mohan)
Matthew Mohan
10 Sep 2023 06:00AM
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SINGAPORE: Brandon Chia's journey to the Asian Games began many years ago at a Tampines Mall arcade.
While his mother shopped for groceries every Friday, Chia would get S$5 to spend. And there was one game that caught his eye - Street Fighter Alpha 2.
"I wasn't good (at Street Fighter), so S$5 was sufficient to survive an hour," 30-year-old Chia recalled.
"It was just something that appealed to me - that it's a very different game compared to every other game. It stood out and it was very unique to me," he said.
As arcades soon began to enforce stricter rules with regards to children on the premises, Chia turned to playing Street Fighter at home instead.
"As far as games go, I was never really one to play excessively. Even back when I was a kid, it was just playing (for) an hour or two," recalled Chia, who will be Singapore's sole e-sports representative at this month's Asian Games.
E-sports will feature as a medal event at the Asian Games for the first time in Hangzhou. A total of seven games will be included and Chia will compete in Street Fighter V.