Willing to push and encourage more women to take up Esports: Apollonia Hinds

India has emerged as a hub for Esports gamers. In the recent years, India has witnessed several upcoming Esports startups such as Global Esports, JetSynthesys, FanMojo, Nodwin Gaming and Cobx Gaming that have lured gamers to the country. One such gamer is Apollonia Hinds.

Born in England and raised in Singapore, Hinds now resides in Mumbai. She was a content creator with “Girlaxy” who were an Singapore based all-female Esports roster and helped set it up in India as a part of GEMS, Global Esports Mythical Gemstones -India's first female gaming lifestyle team.

"We involve our self in Esports communities, and we are willing to push and encourage more women to take up Esports and support them" says Hinds.

While Esports is a male-dominated industry, Hinds was surprised to be welcomed with open arms by GE in India. Gamers, men and women alike, welcomed more female players to push the limits and take up gaming full time.

While Esports is a male-dominated industry, Hinds was surprised to be welcomed with open arms by GE in India. (Image: Apolina Hinds)

There are however few who believe otherwise.

Hinds explains, "There are girls that face sexism and some guys won't want to face them because they feel they are better than them"

Despite the prejudice, Hinds sees the glass as half-full, she believes that more and more girls will join the Esports ecosystem.

The game that propelled Hinds to limelight is “League of Legends”, a popular online PC MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena).

Hinds is convinced that she has a lot to contribute to the League of Legend community and another game that keeps her busy is the popular First-Person Shooter game, Counter-Strike.

She feels blessed to have the support of her parents when she needed it the most.

"While my parents understood my passion for the game, I had to finish my education first to atleast have a backup plan! However once my esports career took off, they encouraged me to follow my dreams and pursue my passion, explains a delighted Hinds.

Like any other sports player, Hinds has had her highs and lows.

"I think my most memorable achievement was when I single-handedly planned an all-female LAN tournament. It was at a college convention and I had to plan everything because it took work looking for a girl who can usher the event. It took a lot of convincing as girls do not feel confident when it comes to esports as they get unwanted attention" explained Hinds.

Hinds is currently working with Global Esports as a content creator where she devotes her time for GEMS. GlobalEsports.com plans to use GEMS as the platform for involving more women in the domain of esports and make sure there are more opportunities for women.

GlobalEsports.com plans to use GEMS as the platform for involving more women in the domain of esports (Image: Apolina Hinds)

"At GE, we are pushing for more visibility to the world of gaming and esports. The GEMS initiative is to not just to acknowledge women in the community, but also help others who want to pursue esports as a career option” says Dr. Rushindra Sinha, Founder of Global Esports.

For Hinds, the future in esports looks promising.

"I think what you earn varies from what you do. Some people earn lakhs through playing, others streaming and monetize it on Youtube. Then there are other people who do back end stuff and create events so there are a lot of positions available in esports. It is just about choosing which one you are going into" concluded Hinds.

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