# Abhishek Ambekar

Abhishek Ambekar (born 11 August 1991) is an Indian footballer who plays as a defender for I-League club Sreenidi Deccan.

## Career
### Early career

He began playing football in school, Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Thane and represented his school team and his college and state team later. He was roped into the Air India FC under-19 team, coached by former Indian player Godfrey Pereira, who is also from Santacruz.

### Air India

The winger eventually graduated to Air India's senior team. Ambekar made his debut for Air India FC of the I-League on 7 October 2012 coming on as a 54th-minute substitute for Ong Lepcha; Air India lost 5–1.

### Career pitfalls

Air India FC couldn't play in the I-League further as it didn't satisfy the Asian Football Confederation norms, according to the All India Football Federation. But this didn't hinder Ambekar's career as he joined the newly-floated Mumbai Tigers, which had players like Steven Dias, Paresh Shivalkar under coach Bimal Ghosh, who helped Ambekar improve his game. But the club also couldn't survive for long. He joined Mumbai FC and later got a job with the Reserve Bank of India. The job rules didn't allow him to play at the professional level but he preferred RBI as it offered job security. During that time he played for Maharashtra in Santosh Trophy.
Later Ambekar was handed a lifeline by RBI, who agreed to release players and encouraged sportspersons to continue playing. It was what he had been waiting for. At the cost of risking his progress at work, Ambekar started sniffing at opportunities to play in the big leagues again. That chance came at fledgling side Minerva, who had finished 9th of 10 teams on their I-League debut last season.

### Minerva Punjab

In 2017 he joined Minerva Punjab. He made his debut for Minerva on 25 November 2017 in I-League match against Mohun Bagan at Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana as he played full match and his team drew the match 1-1. He became an inevitable ingredient of the side which eventually won the silverware. The I-League title triumph gave Ambekar's CV a necessary kick which was missing earlier in his career.
   " It was a great experience playing for Minerva and we ended up winning the title after a hard fought season. It was the pre-season practice and team bonding that finally led Minerva to victory. It really boosted our careers"
—Ambekar on winning I-League

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 5 April 2023
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | AFC | AFC | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Air India | 2012–13 | I-League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Minerva Punjab | 2017–18 | I-League | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 0 |
| Mohun Bagan | 2018–19 | I-League | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 0 |
| East Bengal | 2019–20 | I-League | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| East Bengal | 2020–21 | Indian Super League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 |
| East Bengal | East Bengal total | East Bengal total | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| Sudeva Delhi | 2020–21 | I-League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 0 |
| Rajasthan United | 2021–22 | I-League | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 13 | 0 |
| Mohammedan | 2022–23 | I-League | 14 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 21 | 0 |
| Sreenidi Deccan | 2023–24 | I-League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 82 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
* 1 2 Appearance(s) in Super Cup
* 1 2 Appearance(s) in Durand Cup
* ↑ Appearance(s) in Calcutta Football League

## Honours
### Club
#### Minerva Punjab

* I-League: 2017–18

#### Mohun Bagan

* Calcutta Football League (1): 2018–19