India has a big pool of talented fighting-game players, but they lack discipline, focus, and constant training: Indian Tekken pro Abhinav Tejan opens up about nation’s FGC scene

Q15. What are your thoughts on the potential and raw pool of talent in the current Indian FGC scene?

Abhinav: To get to the top in anything requires focus and training. That is why, for the last eight years, I have made it to the grand finals of every single offline tournament in India.

The other player who mostly reached the grand finals was my training partner, Loveneet Dogra, and it hasn't changed much in recent years.

The IESF 2014 (Image via Abhinav Tejan)

India has a vast pool of great players, but because of the lack of discipline, focus, and constant training, they are unable to bring out their full potential. That is why sponsorship is necessary to bring out their talents to the fullest. Financial backing is what the Indian FGC lacks significantly.

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Q16. Who, for you, has been one of the most inspirational fighting game players?

Abhinav: Knee from South Korea is my inspiration in fighting games. He always plays defensive, which is my choice of gameplay style as well, and even after turning 35, he is still winning championships.

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Q17. What is the best moment in professional fighting game tournaments that you have ever witnessed?

Abhinav: I am sure everyone in the fighting game community has heard of “Evo Moment 37.” It was a clip of a match between Daigo Umehara and Justing Wong.

Daigo was at a chip of health, and Justin Wong did a super with Chun Li, a 15-hit combo string. If Daigo had failed to block even a single hit from that, he would have died, but he evaded all 15 blows, which required nearly a frame input, and he took the match.

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Q18. What are some of your expectations for Tekken 8?

Abhinav: Tekken always had a problem with character rosters. So for Tekken 8, I want a smaller character roster to make it easier for new players to get into the game. I also wish for more fundamentals to be included from previous games like Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag 2 so that the game remains deep for professional players.

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Q19. What do you feel is Tekken esports' future now that so many fighting game titles are becoming more and more popular?

Abhinav: For the past few years, we have seen a massive increase in the popularity of Tekken not just internationally but in India as well. Thus, we have seen an increased prize pool and an enormous rise in the number of players.

This is good for the game, and I want this pace to remain for the Tekken series, and hopefully, Tekken 8 will be more popular than Tekken 7. However, It will take a while to catch up to the popularity of other big esports games like CS: GO, DOTA 2, and Valorant.

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Q20. What words of advice would you give the next generation of fighting game talents in India who are still struggling to make it big in the scene?

Abhinav: Tekken is a challenging game because of the considerable move list and a huge character roster, but don't get intimidated by that. Just play this game for fun first, make your social circle in the gaming community, and learn the game with them little by little.

Tell your friends about your setups, improve those setups, participate in every tournament possible and watch the game you have lost, and improve on it. It will take time, but Tekken is a rewarding game, so it will be a fun journey. Best of luck!