Abhishek idolises Cristiano Ronaldo's style of play
He scored six goals, leading India to Asia Cup 2025 triumph
The team is preparing for the FIH World Cup 2026
Abhishek aims to end India's 50-year World Cup title drought
Indian men's hockey team striker Abhishek Nain idolises the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo and draws considerable inspiration from the Portuguese football great's style of play, the 26-year-old said on Thursday, September 11. Abhishek was a star in India's victorious Asia Cup 2025 campaign, propelling the team towards their World Cup aspirations.
Abhishek aims to incorporate Ronaldo's playing style by watching videos of his matches to learn. While his childhood coach wanted him to emulate Lionel Messi, Ronaldo fascinated the striker.
"My childhood coach, Shamsher Dahiya, is a fan of Messi and wanted to make me like him. But I am a fan of Ronaldo," Abhishek told PTI. "I watch all his matches from which I learn about scoring, positioning, timing and shooting."
He further elaborated: "Both football and hockey are team sports and are played with the ball. The whole game is about running and endurance, in which positioning is very important, and Ronaldo is my inspiration for this."
Abhishek Stars In Asia Cup 2025
Abhishek excelled for India in their triumphant Asia Cup campaign, which took place recently in Rajgir, Bihar. The Harmanpreet Singh-led side defeated defending champions Korea 4-1, claiming India's fourth title. This victory secured their qualification for next year's FIH World Cup, jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands from August 14 to 30.
Abhishek scored six goals in the Asia Cup and orchestrated many scoring opportunities. Overall, Abhishek has scored 48 goals in 113 matches. "I had a feeling from within that this tournament (Asia Cup) would be something special, but I did not think that I would become the player of the tournament," the Paris Olympic bronze medalist said.
The Asia Cup triumph provides India with ample time to prepare for next year's World Cup. Abhishek remarked, "The biggest takeaway from the Asia Cup is that now we have got a long time to prepare for the World Cup. Talking about myself, this performance would definitely boost my confidence, which will be very useful in the upcoming tournaments and the World Cup."
Milestones In Abhishek’s Journey
Abhishek was a prominent member of the team that secured a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics and a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022. Among Indian players, Abhishek draws inspiration from former India captain Sardar Singh.
"Among Indian players, I like Sardar Singh a lot, and I started playing hockey after seeing him," he said. "But before I joined the Indian team, he had retired from the game. So I did not get a chance to play with him."
Abhishek began playing hockey after observing his brother Ashish and a friend. His parents initially refused to let him play hockey following a childhood wrist injury, but his coach, Shamsher Dahiya, convinced them.
Abhishek stated, "Shamsher sir does not know much about modern hockey, but he tells me a lot about my game. I keep taking advice from him." He also openly discusses his game and technical aspects with the Indian team coach, Craig Fulton.
Chasing World Cup Gold: Abhishek’s Vision
Abhishek, a senior manager at Punjab National Bank (PNB), aims to end India's 50-year title drought in the World Cup. He believes the current team can achieve this breakthrough. "We have not won the World Cup for 50 years, and I think this team can win because we have defeated top teams," he said. "We just have to work on consistency because in some matches we play very well and in some we play poorly."
He also highlighted the need for the team to focus on deep defence and finishing inside the circle. Abhishek desires the return of India's "golden era before 1975", when the nation frequently won Olympic medals. He wants the team to win medals for the country in every major tournament.
"We should get used to winning medals. We are moving in that direction," he said. "We have won bronze in two Olympics, but now the colour of the medal needs to be changed."
(With PTI Inputs)
