He has been synonymous with Indian squash for close to two decades and anyone who knows him will vouch for his passion and relentless pursuit of excellence. And, he is a Kolkatan at heart. Saurav Ghosal, the 35-year-old made his way to history books on Wednesday night when he won India’s first-ever singles medal in squash at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. He beat former world No. 1 James Willstrop of England 11-6, 11-1, 11-4 to clinch bronze in men’s singles. A day later, he chatted with The Telegraph from Birmingham, a few hours to go for his mixed doubles tie with Dipika Pallikal as his partner which they won. (Saurav and Dipika also won their quarter-final match and at the time of going to the press were through to the semis.) In a candid chat, he told us how special this win was and what it means for Indian squash. Excerpts.
There couldn’t have been a better person to win this...
This is a special moment for me personally and Indian squash as well. It is our first individual medal and something we have been trying for, for a long time and something that probably 15 years back no one would have thought possible. I really hope this inspires and makes the next generation believe that they can cut it at the world stage and at the biggest events.
It is also a bit more special because I ended up playing James Willstrop who is a legend of the game, (former) world number one and the one who won Commonwealth Games last time at the Gold Coast, whose dad (Malcolm Willstrop) made me the player I am for the most part. So, it was difficult mentally to be able to play that match. I am quite proud of myself in a lot of ways to be able to pull out a performance like I did yesterday (Wednesday) because it was definitely one of my best performances and I am just thankful that it came out on a day like yesterday.
For me, personally, it is about going to my club or training centre every day and trying to be the best player I can possibly be, trying to improve every day and enjoying the process. This win is not an overnight process and something that has taken a lot of work over a number of years. It has always been my focus to get better and hopefully do well on the professional tour and in games like the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and win medals for India. I am just grateful and thankful to firstly have the opportunity to showcase what I have on platforms like these and, of course, at the same time, to win medals for India is very special and dear to my heart and it’ll always be part of my cherished memories for the rest of my life.
This sits right at the top of your mountain of firsts?
This just about shades the Asian Games team gold (in 2014, skippered by Saurav). That was very dear to me. This just shades it purely because of the quality of the opposition... at the Commonwealth Games. Barring the World Championships, this is one of the hardest events to win.
What did you tell yourself after he loss in the semis?
Look, it was very difficult. Like you said, I trained very hard to win gold here, but unfortunately, for me, Paul Coll was very good on the day of the semi-finals. I had to kind of quickly reset and put myself in a position mentally, more than anything, to be able to play against someone like James. What I tried to do was almost cheat my head, mind by trying to focus on very small details about how I wanted to play, how I wanted to respond to what James was going to throw at me. I think he helped in focusing my mind in almost a tunnel vision kind of thing, cutting out everything else that might have gone on in my head had I not done that. I am glad I managed to do that. Playing James in a match like that is probably the toughest match I’ve had to play mentally in my entire career and I have played a lot... but this would be the hardest match I have ever played mentally.
Is it only you conversing with yourself or do you talk to someone in such moments?
I have my whole team around me, my coach David Palmer, my physical trainer Damon Brown, my psychologist Gayatri (Vartak), my nutritionist Krushmi Chheda, my family as well, my wife, my dad. Everyone has inputs in different ways, but at the end of the day, it’s me who has to go out there and perform. I take everything on board and try to do the best I can. There are some days when it comes out great like yesterday and there are some days, it doesn’t. What I try to do is to give my best every single time and make sure that I don’t have any regrets on that count.
(L-R) Silver medalist Joel Makin of Team Wales, Gold medallist Paul Coll of Team New Zealand and Bronze medalist Saurav Ghosal of Team India pose on the podium during Men’s Singles medal ceremony on day six of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at University of Birmingham Hockey & Squash Centre
What are the emotions like when you play someone you know so well and he also knows your game?
It is not easy. It is hard playing someone like that. He is just not my friend, but someone that I have looked up to and learned from for so many years. Like I said, I had to cheat my mind and head by not thinking of that and thinking of small specific details. Thankfully that worked and I played pretty well.
Did you feel at any point that you had won the game?
No... against James you can never think (like that). His mental strength is so underrated because his skill level is so high. I have experienced it myself and I have seen him dig out matches from near death so many times that I had to force myself not to think about the finish line. He can come back to you like tidal waves. I was focusing on every single point and trying to do the right things. For the most part I did manage to do that and execute exactly what I wanted to do. That’s why I won and had I not done that, it might have been a different story.
This was no revenge match for you, right? (James beat Saurav in the men’s singles squash semi-finals in the Commonwealth Games in 2014.)
I think our relationship and friendship goes way past the squash court. So, not an ounce of that.
We have never seen you cry. Happy tears really. This is the moment you played for...
It’s so many things put together. It’s the first historic medal for India at an individual event, beating James on a stage like that, it’s something you dream of and to put in a performance like that... you don’t even dream of. Like you said, I have worked so hard for this event in particular and for it to come to fruition in some form, at least in the form of a bronze medal, was satisfying obviously, but extremely overwhelming at the end of it all. It’s probably not sunk in completely yet because I haven’t processed everything. I have the mixed doubles event and I am trying to focus on that and make sure that I have clarity in what I need to do with Dipika (Pallikal) to try and win that event. Maybe after I finish it, this week, and hopefully, we can win the gold in that, after that I’ll have the time to process it. I couldn’t have asked for things to go any better. I think the combination of it all, was overwhelming and emotional.
There is an emotional guy behind that steely demeanour...
Yeah, I guess I am emotional in my own way. I obviously try to stay strong as much as I can but at times there is a tipping point.
Saurav Ghosal of Team India (right) playing against James Willstrop of Team England in the Men’s Singles — Bronze Medal Match between India and England on day six of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at University of Birmingham Hockey & Squash Centre
This was also a validation of years of conviction...
Indian squash has come a long way since I started. What we’ve done over the last 10-15 years... 2006 Asian Games, first individual bronze and we are here today with the first Commonwealth Games bronze. A lot has happened. We have become extremely competitive on the world stage. We have pushed the bar higher for the next generations to follow. I hope this win will catapult us into an even stronger territory and we can start dominating on the world stage and people will have the belief that they can do it. Coming from India, the belief that we can win the biggest events around the world and more kids will start playing the sport and there is strength in numbers. And, if we have those numbers, there’s bound to be quality coming through. Hopefully this will give it the impetus to make it a big, big sport in our country.
We know you’ve not had any time, but anything your family did after the big win?
We’ve had no time. I got back to the village around 10pm after the medal ceremony, had dinner, showered, stretched... (we want to) just focus on the next few days and then we’ll have enough time.
You are also defending the mixed doubles silver from the 2018 Commonwealth Games even as you vie for the gold...
It’s something we have worked hard on... Dipika and I. We know exactly how we want to play and execute what we are good at and, hopefully, we will do that. It’s just taking one match at a time and understanding how we can get through one day at a time as clinically as possible. It helps that Dipika in her own right is a fantastic squash player. That makes life a lot easier. We have to stay disciplined and focused and get through the rounds one by one and, hopefully, win gold for India on August 7.
For fans, it’s amazing to see the playing spans of their favourite players increasing, be it you, or Rafael Nadal or Cristiano Ronaldo...
There are a lot of reasons for it. There have been advancements in sports science. Training-wise, it is a lot better. We take care of our bodies a lot better, and eat better. All those factors have made it possible for athletes to lengthen their playing careers. At the end of the day, it is a lot of work that goes into managing to do that, but we love our sport a lot and the idea is to play as long as possible.
Pictures: PTI and Getty Images