Interview with Saurav Ghosal: "It would be fantastic to win in Kolkata"

Saurav Ghosal excited about competing at the Kolkata International

Saurav Ghosal has been making rapid strides recently, having reached the finals at the HKFC International, Abierto Colombiano and the CCI International which was the second leg of the JSW Indian Squash Circuit. Sitting pretty at his career-best ranking of 15, the Kolkata boy has now turned his attention to winning his home leg of the Indian Squash Circuit – the $35k Kolkata International.

Ahead of the tournament which begins on Thursday, the India No. 1, who is seeded third, spoke to us about his aims, his recent performances and his training with the three-time world champion Ramy Ashour.

Excerpts:

Q: You have reached the finals in three of your last four PSA events and have equalled your career-best ranking of 15 as well. Are you satisfied with where your game is heading currently?

A: I am happy with the way I am playing. Of course, three finals is obviously very good but I wish I had won a few of them. But you know, the thing is that I need to learn from each of the three finals. Although, I lost three out of three, they are very different in the way that I lost. Hopefully, I can learn from that and win those kinds of matches in the future.

Q: The recent good results must have given you a big boost ahead of the Kolkata International? Winning at home must be another big motivational factor?

A: Yeah, for sure to win in Kolkata would be fantastic. So that’s obviously a goal. But I am not thinking about the whole tournament. Right now I think it’s still one match at a time. Tomorrow (Thursday) is the first round. I play Nathan Lake of England. He is a solid player. So I’ll take it one match at a time, focus on that and as the days go around, I’ll keep getting better. I think that will work well.

Q: You have already trained with Ramy Ashour once this year and are going again in October. It must be a huge learning experience for you?

A: Yeah, I have been practising and training with him at the pace which he plays at. That pace cannot be replicated by anyone else. So it’s fantastic to do that. Obviously to see someone like him who is probably the most talented player ever to play the game and has achieved a lot already – he is a three-time world champion – to be in close proximity with him while he is training, is a great learning experience in itself.

4. How do you think the Indian Squash Circuit is helping to popularize the sport in the country?

A: I think it’s great that we finally have some PSA tournaments in India. The players who are playing right now get to play at home and that is always a big plus.

It’s also good for the squash enthusiasts, the members of the clubs that like to get involved.

Most importantly, it is great for young kids and young juniors who can see top level squash right in front of their eyes. They can see how good they need to be and what they need to do. I think it’s better than any other learning experience that they will have.

As a junior, when I used to watch top level players play, I would keep seeking where my game can get better at. Now when you are a junior, there is a much more opportunity to improve your game. So I think it will be brilliant for them.

5. What is your next big goal?

A: I just want to keep winning matches. I am currently focusing on that. Hopefully, to begin with, if I can win this tournament and some other, go deep into the draws of World Series events, I can get my ranking up to top 10 which has been a goal for a while. Hoping I can make that and push on for higher and bigger things.