"Honoured to be back after four full seasons" - Nikhil Poojary on his return to the Indian national team
Perseverance is a treasured commodity in sports and in life, and Nikhil Poojary's resurgence has been an embodiment of that. It took the 27-year-old four long years to return to the Indian men's national team but now he's back into the mix.
The last time Poojary donned the Indian Blues was back in September 2019, in the 0-0 draw against Qatar in the World Cup Qualifiers. Despite the magnitude of the result, the winger had an underwhelming outing and lost his place in Igor Stimac's side.
In an interview with the AIFF Media Team, Nikhil Poojary admitted that he hadn't done enough to get called up to the next national camp. But he was eager to reunite with the Blue Tigers soon.
"I knew that if I wanted to make a comeback, I needed to do much better," Poojary averred. "Then when Hyderabad FC was formed (in 2019), gradually my confidence and performance also grew. I hadn't received a call up then, but it was okay as I knew I had to keep working hard because the competition in the national team is very tough."
"If you ask anybody in the Hero ISL, their dream is to play in the national team," he added. "Obviously, the last few years were difficult, but I'm honoured to be back after four full seasons. With whatever minutes I get, I want to prove that I'm worthy of staying at this level."
However, Nikhil Poojary's inclusion has come at the expense of positional transition. Once he was operating as an explosive winger, but now he has resorted to a much more conservative role in the right-back position at Hyderabad FC.
After Hyderabad's regular right-back Asish Rai jumped ship to join ATK Mohun Bagan, Manolo Marquez offered Nikhil Poojary the opportunity to step up.
"I'm thankful to the coaching staff and the management as they trusted me to fill in the right-back spot," he continued. "Personally, I used to be confused about my best position before this year. But now, I think my ideal position will be right-back because I think I can be solid defensively and help in attack as well. Coach Manolo (Márquez) told me that right-back was a suitable position for me."
"Also, coach Igor (Stimac) met me in the Durand Cup last year and told me the same thing that I should start loving the right-back position more. So, after this season, I've become more clear and comfortable about my position," Poojary revealed.
"Everything is building up for the Asian Cup" - Nikhil Poojary eyeing the marquee AFC tournament
After his underwhelming performances in the World Cup Qualifiers, Nikhil Poojary failed to make it into the final squad for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. However, now that he's back into the foray right before the continental tournament, Poojary is adamant about making this chance count.
"To keep your spot in the team, you not only have to do well in the camp but also your club when you go back. So, it's important to take care of your health and fitness as everybody knows we're going to have high-intensity games in the Asian Cup. Everything we do every single day is going to count eight months later," he said to the AIFF Media Team.
While rubbing shoulders with the senior players in the national camp, it has become evident to Poojary that everything from here on is part of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 preparation. Whether it's about retaining your place or regaining it.
"In our team meetings, the coaches and captain Chhetri bhai have stressed that whatever we're doing right now – our diet and training – everything is building up for the Asian Cup," Poojary said. "We've got two back-to-back tournaments, so our game-time and recovery will be very crucial. Everybody is taking these matches very seriously to try and make the squad for the Asian Cup."
There's always a bit of romanticism surrounding a good comeback story and Nikhil Poojary's crusade to break into the AFC Asian Cup squad has all the spices of being a blockbuster. But he'll need a little more of that perseverance to blurr the lines between his ambition and reality.