NEW DELHI, Oct. 18 -- At a time when his colleagues are finding it difficult to keep their spots in the Indian hockey team, Abhishek Nain has quickly cemented his place in the Harmanpreet Singh-led side, emerging as the team's most potent force in the forward line. Having made his debut in 2022, Abhishek's skills with the stick, peripheral vision and knack of finding goals from impossible positions have made the 26-year-old the go-to player in the striking circle. Having helped India claim the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver in what was only his second international tournament, the Sonipat-born was also crucial in India's gold medal winning campaign at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. Abhishek was brilliant at the Paris Olympics last year where India won bronze following it up with a gold at the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy. Last month, Abhishek was immaculate again as he was named the Player of the Tournament at the Asia Cup, helping India win gold and qualify for the 2026 World Cup. "When I go inside the circle, a shot on target is the first priority. If I can't do that, I think of an outcome, either aim for the second post or target a penalty corner (PC)," Abhishek told HT. "Whenever I play, I just think it is my last match. I don't think about the future. It gives me that extra boost on the pitch." Lalit Kumar Upadhyay has retired, Shamsher Singh and Gurjant Singh dropped and Simranjeet Singh out of contention. That leaves Sukhjeet Singh, Mandeep Singh and Abhishek as the three regular fixtures among the strikers with the latter outperforming the other two in recent times. On top of that, Abhishek had to reset his coordination with forwards Dilpreet Singh and Shilanand Lakra, both of whom returned to the team and performed brilliantly at the Asia Cup. "There was no pressure as such but there is responsibility because now, I have a little experience. With youngsters, I have to tell them if they are making errors. "If they're low, I have to encourage them. With Dilpreet and Shilanand returning to the team, I had to boost their confidence. We have to motivate each other on the field," said Abhishek, who has played 113 matches for India. Even though Abhishek had a superb tournament, scoring six goals in seven games in Rajgir, the Punjab National Bank employee still feels he has room to improve. "It was a good tournament for me. My connections were good up front. But I still need to work on a few things like short-handle finishing in the circle and tackling when I am off the ball, I am a little slow in that," said Abhishek, whose father worked in the Border Security Force. Abhishek credits the Hockey India League (HIL) for his improved show. Last year, the forward was the second most expensive player at the HIL auction, getting sold to Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers for Rs.72 lakh. The Arjuna awardee repaid the faith by helping the Kolkata-based franchise win the 2024-25 edition in February. "I learnt a lot from the foreign players. The most noticeable thing was that the overseas players motivate and encourage each other a lot, especially when someone is down. I learned that if you make others feel confident and comfortable, the performance of the team also improves," said Abhishek, who likes to play video games in his free time. Next up for Abhishek is the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup from November 23-30 in Ipoh where he is looking to ply his improved trade against Belgium, New Zealand, hosts Malaysia, South Korea and Canada....