Hard work and determination help Gregory Gaultier win the world title

Gregory Gaultier

Perseverance, as they say, pays and pays well. Ask Gregory Gaultier, the fresh world champion after his success recently in the US. This was this Frenchman’s fifth tilt at the world title and he made it this time at the age of 32, which squash experts say is the age when good players generally peak.

But then one does not peak naturally but through lots of hard work, sacrifice and hunger for success. Gaultier showed he had not lost an iota of all this after each time failure confronted him in the past. He persevered and success finally showered on him as he became the first French player in history to lift the world title.

Gaultier has been to India once, in 2007 for the world championship held in Chennai and at that time he had expressed delight of being in this part of Asia. “The farthest I had come was Pakistan,” he told this correspondent on that occasion and when he saw the facilities in India his joy knew no bounds as it would any squash player who sees the sport spreading wings.

India had never been much on the squash map around that time. Gaultier, of course, could not make it a memorable moment then because France could not get to the title round, but his performance and his on-court aggression were something that stood out.

Not many would rate him among the most stylish players in the game like Ramy Ashour or Shabana, both Egyptian greats who would seem to do a ballet dance on court, when they play.

However, Gaultier belonged to a genre which put stress on business. He would get on to the court and seriousness engulfs him to the extent that he would leave no stone unturned to reach his end. And that meant over-aggression, something that has put him in embarrassing situations in front of referees.

But that is how he values each point. He will contest and if it comes to that, even question decisions vehemently. When a decision goes against him he even mirrors the frustration on the court. All said and done, he is never an easy player; any opponent or referee would admit that.

Maj S. Maniam, the SRFI Consultant coach and Director of Coaching, WSF, has seen a lot of Gaultier and believes that this French player combines hard work and aggression to telling ends. His victory, Maj Manian said, would do a lot good to French squash in particular and European squash in general.

On the other hand Cyrus Poncha remembers seeing this precocious talent first way back in 2000 when he contested the world junior final in Milan, Italy. “I remember he lost to Darwish then but the way he conducted himself and displayed his skills he had in him to remain among the top players in the world,” he said.

At Bellevue in Washington this time, Gaultier was determination personified against another Egyptian tormenter Omar Mosaad. Age has mellowed the Frenchman, even taken away a little of his hair from his head, but more than that it has destroyed the butterflies in his stomach.

There was no nervous twitch like the way he lost from five match balls once in a world championship final. This time, he was not ready to surrender despite Omar’s brilliant play.

Many experts feared that Gaultier could still choke despite a two-game lead and that seemed to come true when Omar sat on a 10-8 lead and ready to grab a game. But Gaultier showed the timely touch of resilience blended with brilliance to bounce back and win.

“A dream from childhood days has come true,” said the champion as this world number three now looks forward to sit on top of the rankings list once again in due course.