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

Q8. Which of the Tekken games were your favorite so far, and why?

Abhinav: My favorite Tekken game is a somewhat controversial one: Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

The game was really hard, and it had a vast character pool that made it even harder to master. Hence, it received a lot of criticism from the gaming community, but it was still my favorite game.

The reason is that I had fun playing the game with my friends. Hanging out at my friend’s arcade every day, talking about the game, and improving were the best memories of my life.

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Q9. Who is your favorite character in Tekken 7, and why?

Abhinav: Nina Williams is my favorite Tekken character because she is a badass, and I love her personality. And If we talk about gameplay, she has some of the most unique moves and difficult to execute combos in the game, which I find a welcome challenge.

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Q10. Which Tekken 7 character you find to be a tough matchup to counter based on your playstyle?

Abhinav: So I usually play a defensive style and like to counter my opponent’s offense, but if they go defensive, it becomes tough for me to counter.

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Q11. If Tekken 7 were to introduce a tag game mode, which two would you choose as your duo?

Abhinav: I will choose Nina Williams and Asuka Kazama because both of these characters’ playstyle is totally opposite. So they fill each other’s weakness out; Asuka is a defensive character while Nina is offensive. Moreover, I used to play this same duo in Tekken Tag 2.

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Q12. Controller vs Arcade Stick vs Keyboard: Which is your weapon of choice?

Abhinav: I play on a PS4 controller because I have become used to it. Around 2010, it was really hard to get your hands on an arcade stick, so the only other thing I had was a controller. I would love to switch to an arcade stick in the future, but it is a lot of work, which I am avoiding for now.

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Q13. What is the most challenging fighting game you have played so far? What made it so difficult for you to master?

Abhinav: Tekken is the name that comes up on every players’ lips when we ask for the hardest fighting game, but for me, it was Guilty Gear. The combos execution was the main barrier, as they require specific types of inputs that are hard to do on a controller. So I had to drop the game eventually.

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Q14. You were recently able to seal a spot in the finals of the Esports World Championship. How do you feel about being able to represent India in Tekken on an international stage?

Abhinav: It always feels great to represent India on an international level, but it also comes with a lot of pressure because I am playing for India, not for me, in these types of tournaments.