Gaming is often branded as something harmful in many parts of the world, India included. “You’re wasting your time”, “You should focus on your studies”, “Playing games will ruin your future” are some common phrases that practically every gamer has heard at some point.
But that doesn’t stop gaming from prospering. Statistics from market researcher Newzoo show that in 2018, the gaming industry rose to an astonishing $137.9 billion and this number is expected to reach $180.1 billion by 2021. Alongside this growth, the mobile gaming industry is also shifting, reaching $70.3 billion last year. There are also reportedly about 2.3 billion gamers in the world right now.
India is a major contributor to the success of mobile gaming. The reason is very simple: Almost everybody has a smartphone these days, which makes mobile games a lot more accessible than games on PC or consoles.
When speaking of mobile games in India, PUBG Mobile is the name that immediately comes to people’s mind. Released just over a year ago, the game has achieved massive success in the country, witnessing several big tournaments with huge prize pools that attracted many pro players.
One of those pro players is Angad Singh Chahal, also known by the in-game name TheExper1ment. Angad is a member of team ‘The Dreamers’, one of the 20 finalists of the recent tournament PUBG Mobile India Series 2019. Now here’s the interesting part: Pro gaming is not actually Angad’s profession. Instead, the 29-year-old is an MBBS graduate and is doing his internship at the moment. Previously, he went to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chandigarh.
Angad first got into PUBG Mobile in July last year. Before that, he mostly played PC games, so the battle royale on mobile was a completely different experience. However, in an interview, the pro player says that he takes his professional discipline very seriously and thus never plays games at work. That said, he’s always been a fan of shooting games and that combined with the battle royale format makes PUBG Mobile a very unique experience for him.
When asked about his opinion on the criticisms that PUBG Mobile is receiving in India right now due to many people thinking that it is harmful to the mental health of players, Angad believes that everything is bad when consumed in excessive amount. Studies and work are necessary to sustain a good life, so if you spend all your time playing games, it’ll naturally be very bad. On the other hand, however, if you focus only on working and studying to the point where you don’t have any form of entertainment at all, it’ll make you dull. As a result, the key here is to strike a balance between the two. Take Angad himself as an example: As mentioned, he is very serious about his profession and never plays games when he is working. He also makes time to go to the gym every day regardless of how busy he is before getting home and get on the game.
Angad then went on to share that his parents were also concerned at first about eSports as a career, which is understandable considering that the scene is still pretty new in India and did not see any notable growth until recently, but they eventually came around when he showed that he could sufficiently manage both work and play.
As for his in-game preferences, Angad shares that he really likes the AWM or just bolt action rifles in general, as he thinks that getting a headshot on enemies with a sniper is “beautiful.” When it comes to vehicles, the Buggy is his favorite, while Sanhok is the map he likes best out of the game’s current 4 maps. Also, he always plays in the first-person mode.
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