Introduced to the sport by his school’s Hindi teacher Shamsher Singh, Abhishek gained most of his initial hockey coaching on grass, but made good progress once he made the transition to turf to eventually make his mark nationally and present himself a chance to represent India as part of the Indian men’s team at the upcoming 19^th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Abhishek was 9 years old when Shamsher encouraged him to pick up the stick while he was studying in Sonepat, and since then he has shown no signs of slowing down. He has scored 18 goals in 48 appearances for the country, so far.

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“I played on grass for the first 10 years of my career, and the first time I played on turf was when I transferred to the National Hockey Academy (NHA) for a couple of years. That period of my career was memorable; I competed in the U-18 Asia Cup from the National Hockey Academy and made the junior Indian men’s hockey team in 2017. After that, I joined the Punjab National Bank Hockey Team in 2018 and played there for three years before making it to the senior national team based on my performance in the 1^st Hockey India senior men inter-department national championship 2021 in Bangalore,” Abhishek said of his career thus far.

Upbeat at his selection in the Asian Games-bound Indian team, the 24-year-old said the primary goal is to leave China with no regrets at the end of the tournament.

“I am ecstatic to have been named to the squad, and I am eager to give my all on the pitch. The Asian Games is a big tournament, and we’re preparing accordingly. We’ll play with confidence, and our goal is to leave China with no regrets at the end of the tournament,” Abhishek said.

Abhishek made his debut in the 2021-22 FIH Hockey Pro League and went on to make a name for himself on the big stage, winning two Player-of-the-Match awards during the FIH Hockey men’s World Cup 2023 held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

When asked about his team’s preparations for the continental Games, the forward stated, “We will face some good teams, and we are working very hard in training to make sure we are in the best physical and mental shape when we step onto the pitch.”

India are placed in Pool A of the 9^th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, along with Pakistan, Japan, Bangladesh, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

“My teammates and coaches are all eager to help me; they encourage me and support me in moving forward quickly if I make any mistakes in training. I often turn to Mandeep and Lalit for support if I have any concerns about the structure; they are always willing to talk on and off the pitch,” Abhishek explained about the team’s camaraderie.