Saurav 2.0: Harbouring India aspirations once again, Ghosal comes out of retirement
Saurav 2.0: Harbouring India aspirations once again, Ghosal comes out of retirement
If one googles Saurav Ghosal, the search engine will show him as a ‘former’ Indian squash player.
This is set to change. The decorated athlete became a member of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) on January 1 to make a return to the professional circuit almost 10 months after he’d announced his retirement.
“I want to enjoy the travel and the competitiveness. It’s a different life which I want to enjoy again. I’ve been in India longer in these 10 months than I have in the last 20 years, which has been great. I spent time with my wife and family. I have about three years or so left to push once more. It’s like a part two. Hopefully, it will be better than part one,” Saurav told Sportstar.
“Even when I retired last year from the PSA, I wanted to play for India. I just needed some time away to recalibrate and see where I was at. I felt like I still wanted to play,” recalled Saurav, who last represented the country at the 2022 Asian Games. “Once I decided to play again, it became apparent that being on PSA was important if I wanted to get selected for India.”
When he called time on his career on the tour in April last year, he kept the door open for turning out in the national jersey. “I wanted to save my best for the country,” he said. But around October, he knew he had to get back to playing on the tour to keep alive his India aspirations.
“August is when I started training again. It was hard at first because it had been six months since I did some training. The first few months were more about physical conditioning, more time in the gym and less of squash. Now, it [the game] has amped up. I’m trying to protect the body and keep the mind fresh,” he explained.
For someone who has won multiple medals across the Asian Games and other continental championships, the inclusion of squash to the 2028 Olympics roster seems like an appealing opportunity for Saurav to add another feather to his cap.
The former World No. 10 said, “Obviously, the Olympics are a big deal. It’d be great if I could play and win gold for India. It is three and a half years away so I’m not focussing on that. I’m just taking one year and one tournament at a time.”
While squash makes its first foray in the Summer Games three years down the line, the racquet sport has been chalked off from the 2026 Commonwealth Games disciplines list.
Saurav, who has three medals in the CWG, said, “It would have allowed me to go one or two better [in singles]. With Dipika in mixed doubles, we have the bronze and silver, but we wanted the gold. That opportunity won’t be there now, but it is what it is. The Asian Games are there next year, that is important. You focus on what you have.”
The last time Saurav played on the PSA tour was in the Windy City Open in Chicago last February. Almost exactly a year on, he will be entering the Octane Sydney Classic, a PSA Challenger tour event, as the second seed.
“Hopefully I will win,” Saurav said with a laugh.
Having received a bye in the first round, the 38-year-old will hope that his second coming will be a fruitful outing.
