Reporter Cheng Shan reported that Abra Khan did not go to Dubai with the U23 national team, but stayed behind to join the U21 team led by Cheng Yaodong to train. It is understood that the reason why Abra Khan did not go to Dubai was that his passport was not completed in time, and his wish was to get his passport as soon as possible and wear a national jersey for international competitions. Competing in the Asian Games is one of his goals this year.
When Abra Khan was just exposed to football, he did not dare to think that he would one day be able to wear a national shirt, and in the village of Ingawati in the Kashgar region of Xinjiang, playing football is a distant thing for ordinary rural families. He was discovered, and with his excellent kicking skills, he walked step by step from the countryside to the big city of Kashgar, and then from Xinjiang to Shaanxi. Soon, Abra Khan attracted the attention of the national team, and was selected for the U18 national youth for the first time, feeling the weight of the national shirt for the first time.
In 2020, Abra Khan, who had just entered the professional team, entered the U19 national youth team led by Cheng Yaodong in the summer of that year, and according to the policy of the Chinese Football Association that year, Abra Khan participated in the Chinese Second League with the national youth team that season. At the beginning, the results and performance of the national youth in the Chinese Second Division were not satisfactory, in order to train the players, the personnel often rotated in a large area, giving many young players the opportunity to play, the tacit understanding of the players was slowly found, the competitiveness of the team gradually rose, so that more players were trained, which was regarded as the greatest value of the national youth to participate in the Second Division. The way Abra Khan first landed in the professional league was to represent the team in the middle two. He didn't get many chances to play at first, but then he started consecutively and scored consecutive goals.
At the end of that season, Abra Khan's one-year contract with Henan Songshan Longmen also expired, and his outstanding performance in the Chinese Second Division made him attract the attention of Shanghai Harbor, a powerhouse in the Chinese Super League, and then Abra Khan joined the harbor as a free agent and ushered in his true Chinese Super League season last year. At the same time, he also became a regular visitor to the national youth training.
Whether in the club or in the national brand, Abra Khan's growth rate is amazing, after joining the harbor, head coach Leco even let this Xinjiang guy who has never played in the Chinese Super League directly start in the first round of the Chinese Super League last year. In that game, in the back position, Abra Khan performed quite well, playing 90 minutes, contributing 8 steals, passing success rate of 93%, 18 one-on-one confrontations succeeded 12 times, the data is quite eye-catching, for his performance, the fans are quite satisfied. Last season, Shanghai Harbour was more aggressive in its use of young players, and Abra Khan was one of the success stories.
The 2021 season can be said to be Abra Khan's most rewarding season, he has made considerable appearances at club level, participated in many important games, and received his debut goal in the Chinese Super League. At the Shaanxi National Games held in the same year, as the captain of the Shaanxi team, he helped the team win the first National Games championship in history. At the same time, he is also an important member of the national youth team, and his name is included in the training roster every time. Throughout 2021, he has been switching between various events.
In January this year, the U23 national team launched the first training camp under the leadership of head coach Jankovic, and Abra Khan participated in the training camp after playing in the Chinese Super League and the FA Cup. It wasn't until a few days before the New Year that Abra Khan ended a whole year of busyness. With all the gains, he went home and reunited with his family, a full two years after he had last returned home.
In the distant village of Inawati in Kashgar, the Abra Khan family's important family day every week, that is, the day Abu has a game, and the whole family will gather to watch his game. His parents didn't know football before, and since watching his first game, not a single one has been missed. I also have a deeper understanding of what my son is doing.
In the match in which Abra Khan scored his first goal in the Chinese Super League, his brother sent him a picture of the whole family sitting around watching him play, including his cute little nephew. The young sister innocently asked him, "When will my brother come back, it's been several years, don't you want me, don't you want your mother?" "This time, I finally had the opportunity to have a good talk with my mother."
After a brief reunion with his family, Abra Khan was selected for the first training camp of the U21 national team this year, and then the Chinese Football Association announced the training list of the U23 national team, and Abra Khan was unexpectedly defeated. So this time, he did not go to Dubai with the U23 national team to participate in the "Dubai Cup".
Participating in the "Dubai Cup" abroad is the first official competition in the past three years since the establishment of the U23 national team, and it is also the most important warm-up event before the start of this year's Asian Games. From the heart of Abra Khan, he is naturally eager to fight for the country with the team, and before the departure of the large troops, head coach Jankovic explained to him the reason for not taking him to Dubai, and his passport has not been issued for the time being, so he can only stay in the country first.
In the "Dubai Cup" match that ended in the early morning of the 24th, the U23 national team lost 0-1 to the United Arab Emirates in the first game, in this game, the back performance of the U23 national team was flat, and it was questioned a lot, and many people remembered the name of Abra Khan at this time.
Abra Khan, who has been following the team's performance, are Abra Khan's closest friends, cheered his teammates on social media: "Although this game did not win, I still want to cheer my brothers on. Since the beginning of this year's training, we are all very hard, we all want to test ourselves through the competition, temper ourselves, please believe in our spiritual will, please believe in our determination to win glory, I will also redouble my efforts to look forward to the day when I stand on the international stage for the national brand! ”
At present, the training camp of the U21 national team has ended, and Abra Khan has returned to the club to start preparing for the new season, waiting for the league to start again. He had a new goal in mind – to participate in the Asian Games.
At the beginning of 2020, Abra Khan had just gone to Henan Jianye for trial training, and he was basically sure that he was about to join. According to the winter training plan, the Henan team went directly to Thailand to continue training after the end of the training in Kunming, Abra Khan did not go abroad with the team, when the domestic epidemic had just occurred, Abra Khan could only train and live alone in the Kunming Hongta base for more than eighty days, and his daily life was boring and single, but he never complained and did not slacken off.
Harbor still has AFC Champions League assignments this year, and the upcoming league is also a top priority, and the team certainly wants to strive for better results. According to the current situation, he should not appear in the teams participating in the AFC Champions League, he will focus all his energy on the preparation of the league, and he hopes that his momentum of improvement can continue every year. Last year, Harbor lost out on the title in both league and cup competitions, and this year Abra Khan hopes to give the team more help and work with other teammates to raise the team's ranking again.
In addition to the league, Abra Khan of course has other goals, the yearning for the national brand has not diminished, he cherishes the time of each training camp, whether under the command of Jankovic or Under the guidance of Cheng Yaodong, he has a different harvest in each training. As a young player who has gained a relatively stable playing time in the Chinese Super League, he wants to take on a heavy role in the future national team. This year's Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou, and Abra Khan is very eager and looking forward to participating in this event in China.
This year, the Harbor team will have some adjustments, some new players will join, Abra Khan needs to impress head coach Lecco in the pre-season training camp, continue to get a stable position in the new season, and maintain a stable play in the league, which can guarantee the recognition of the U23 national team manager and enter the final Asian Games entry list. For Abra Khan, who has never stood on the international stage to represent a national team, this Asian Games may be his best opportunity, and he will pay more to achieve this goal.