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Saurav Ghosal

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Saurav Ghosal
Ghoshal (in left) in action against James Willstrop in 2012
Country India
Born (1986-08-10) 10 August 1986 (age 38)
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Turned pro2003
Coached byMalcolm Willstrop,
S. Maniam &
Cyrus Poncha
Racquet usedHead
Men's singles
Highest rankingNo. 10 (April, 2019)
Title(s)10
Tour final(s)18
World OpenQF (2013)
Medal record
Men's squash
Representing  India
World Doubles Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Glasgow Mixed doubles
Silver medal – second place 2004 Chennai Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2016 Darwin Mixed doubles
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2018 Gold Coast Mixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham Mixed doubles
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Incheon Team
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hangzhou Team
Silver medal – second place 2014 Incheon Singles
Silver medal – second place 2022 Hangzhou Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Guangzhou Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Guangzhou Team
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Jakarta Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Jakarta Team
South Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2016 India Singles
Asian Individual Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Kuala Lumpur Singles
Updated on 23 April 2024.

Saurav Ghosal (born 10 August 1986, in Kolkata, West Bengal) is a retired professional squash player from India who reached a career-high ranking of World No. 10 in April 2019. He won the first ever medal in squash for India, bronze in both the singles and mixed doubles, at the Commonwealth games. He was the national champion in 2020 by winning the 77th National Squash championship.[1]

Career overview

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In 2013, Ghosal became the first Indian to reach the Quarter finals of the World Squash Championship at Manchester, England.[2] In 2004, he became the first Indian ever to win the coveted British Junior Open Under-19 Squash title, defeating Adel El Said of Egypt in the final at Sheffield, England.

Ghosal moved to Chennai after completing his school and was based at the ICL squash academy in Chennai and coached by Major (Rtd) Maniam and Cyrus Poncha in Chennai, India. Currently based in Leeds, he trains with Malcolm Willstrop at Pontefract Squash Club in West Yorkshire. Saurav is the current Indian national champion after he defeated Gaurav Nandrajog at the National Championships 2006 in New Delhi. As of May 2010, his PSA world rank is 27. In the top 100 in the world are two of his Indian Squash Colleagues Siddharth Suchde (80) and Harinder Pal Sandhu (90).

Ghosal won the bronze medal at the Asian Games 2006 Doha and was awarded the Arjuna Award by the President of India in August 2007, thus becoming the first squash player from the country to get the award.

Ghosal started playing squash in his hometown of Kolkata, at the Kolkata Racquet Club. He studied from the Lakshmipat Singhania Academy, before moving to Chennai to join the ICL Squash Academy. Here he was coached by retired Major Maniam and Cyrus Poncha.

Ghosal has numerous firsts to his credit, the first Indian to be ranked junior World No one, the first to bag the junior National championship three years in a row and in December 2006, he won the country the first medal in squash in the Doha Asian Games. His first major title was the German Open (U-17) in May 2002 and he won the Dutch Open two months later.[3]

In 2013, he became the first Indian squash player to reach the quarter-finals of the World Championship. In 2014, he won the silver medal (individual singles) in the 17th Asian Games at Incheon. He was the first Indian squash player to do so. He lost in the final to Abdullah Al-Muzayen of Kuwait. He however led the Indian Squash team to its first ever Gold Medal at Incheon. In the final he bounced back from a game down to eke out a 6-11 11-7 11-6 12-14 11-9 win over former world no. 7, Ong Beng Hee in a gruelling 88-minute clash to give India a healthy 2-0 lead.[4]

Ghosal also remains the first Indian player to claim a place in the world’s top 10 during the 2018-19 campaign.

Saurav Ghosal has been named as the Professional Squash Association’s (PSA) Men’s President as one of three new additions to the PSA’s Board of Directors, which were officially confirmed at the association’s annual AGM on Wednesday 22 December 2021.[5]

In August 2022, Ghosal became the first Indian men's squash singles medallist at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games after he beat 2018 reigning champion James Willstrop of England in straight sets in the bronze medal playoff to take the bronze medal. He defeated Shamil Wakeel of Sri Lanka 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 in the second round, beat David Baillargeon of Canada 11-6, 11-2, 11-6 in the third round. In the quarter-final, he recovered from a defeat in the second set to see off Scotland’s Greg Lobban 11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3 before falling to New Zealand’s world no. 2 and eventual gold medallist Paul Coll 9-11, 4-11, 1-11 in the semi-final.

Personal life

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Saurav married Diya Pallikal (sister of Dipika Pallikal Karthik) on 1 February 2017.[6][7][8]

References

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  1. ^ "National..." The Hindu.
  2. ^ "NDTV Sports article on Saurav Ghoshal in the World Championship, 2013". Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Deccan Herald article on Saurav Ghosal". Cyrus Poncha’s squash blog. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  4. ^ PTI (27 September 2014). "Asiad: Men's squash team gets historic gold, women grab silver". The Hindu. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  5. ^ psaworldtour (23 December 2021). "GHOSAL HEADS TRIO OF NEW ADDITIONS TO PSA BOARD".
  6. ^ "Saurav Ghosal gets hitched".
  7. ^ "Dipika Pallikal's sister is married to her shuttler friend Saurav Ghosal".
  8. ^ "Wedding and seeding in Ghosal balancing act".
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