Dark side of esports: Female athlete battles sexism, rape threats

On Aug 6, 2022, Malaysian esports athlete Bette Chia and her teammates from “Grills Gaming” won a gold medal in the Dota 2 Women's category at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

A year later, under the name of “Team Malaysia”, they achieved another victory in the Dota 2 Women’s category of the Global Esports Games, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In a complex game like Dota 2, to hone one’s skills, using a microphone for communication and coordination is most effective. However, due to concerns about revealing her gender, Chia is hesitant to use voice chat.

This is because she has been subjected to...