The homecoming couldn’t have been sweeter after his maiden Asian Squash Championship title, but Saurav Ghosal already has an eye on the immediate future and is in no mood to relax.
“I win or lose, it’s always great to return home and be with my family. But yeah, having won the Asian meet for the very first time was really great and thus makes the occasion certainly bigger.
“At the same time, there’s the British Open later this month. I want to keep up the good work and do something special there as well. I need to keep producing what I did in the Asian meet (in Kuala Lumpur) and just back myself and my game.
“Things won’t be easy, but I’m quite confident,” Ghosal said after returning to the city on Monday night.
The British Open, to be held at the University of Hull, begins May 20 with Ghosal playing on May 21 against Egypt’s sixth-seed Karim Abdel Gawad. Ghosal, though, said he would not be participating in the Nationals this year.
It’s his mental strength that is turning out to be his biggest plus point now, he feels. “I do believe my mental strength has become kind of a guiding force for me.
“Mentally, I think I am stronger now than what I used to be. I feel that’s how I have evolved as a player although there are other technicalities and physical aspects as well where I’ve become better. But it’s this mental strength, which I believe, is helping me with my execution.
“Obviously, preparation comes before execution. I ensure doing everything I need to do preparation-wise, but execution too is important and I feel it has improved.”
On his journey ahead, Ghosal feels he still has a long way to go. “I’m yet to be a finished article, despite the recent success. There’s still a long way to go if I have to be the best,” he said.
Ghosal, meanwhile, had words of comfort for his relative and India wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, as the Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL XII campaign ended after a crushing defeat to Mumbai Indians the other night.
“Yeah, as a family, we were of course disappointed as the Knight Riders couldn’t make the play-offs. DK and his men certainly tried their best…”
