Asian Games the biggest roller coaster ride of my life: Saurav Ghosal

Saurav Ghosal is back from the Asian Games in Incheon having experienced both extreme despair and incomparable joy. Ghosal came within a point of winning a first-ever gold for India in the individual competition before heartbreakingly losing the final. However, a few days later he led India to its first ever team gold. The 28 year old shared memories of both the agony & ecstasy with Gaurav Kalra.
How would you describe the last couple of weeks?

I think the last 10-12 days have been one of the biggest roller coaster rides of my life. It has been brilliant what I have achieved and of course what the team achieved. To be able to pick myself up with my team and win the gold after the disappointment of the individual final and also play a high level of squash throughout the games is something I am very happy about.

What was the final of the team competition like against a strong Malaysian outfit?

I felt they were slight favourites as they had beaten us in June in the Asian team championships. We knew as a team that we would have to play really well to win. I have to say to begin with my best friend Harry (Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu) played one of the best matches of his life to give us the lead. After that I went in against Ong Beng Hee, who I knew was going to give absolutely everything he had. With him I knew I had to play at a much higher pace and for that you need to be physically prepared. I was just telling myself, find something; just win it for these guys. If I could, I would just freeze that moment when we won, it was unbelievable.

Would you say this result establishes India as the best squash-playing nation in Asia?

I think to be called the best we have to do it a few more times. I don’t think if you do it once you earn the right to say we are definitely the best. Out of all the teams we have a very young & committed team, which gives us an edge. The onus is on us as players to get better from here and establish some dominance in the next 4-6 years.

Looking back on the individual final that you lost so narrowly, how do you recall those moments?

He (Abdullah Al Muzayen of Kuwait) hit a volley straight winner on the match point that I had at 12-11 in the third game and subsequently played extremely well. In the entire match, I played at a very high level; unfortunately for me he played unbelievable. In 20 years of squash, I haven’t seen shot making of that kind from anyone. I think on that day neither of us deserved to lose.

Was it hard to convince yourself to play again after the individual final had ended in such a dispiriting defeat?

Obviously one goes through a multitude of emotions, you are devastated and think all the work has gone to waste. But I realized I wasn’t playing just for myself, I was playing for my team now. I was also playing for everyone who has contributed to the player I am today. I knew it would hurt me for much longer than losing the individual final if I didn’t put in the effort for the team.

It's been a good few months for Indian squash. Do you feel the sport is at the cusp of something special?

All of us have worked very hard to get to where we are. It gives us a very strong foundation. This generation is the best we have ever had in the sport. All of us are still young, we have a good 5-6 years and all of us are very ambitious. We are happy with what we have done this year but we are not satiated.

You are ranked 16th in the world. What goals have you set for the coming year?

This year the Commonwealth and Asian games were the priority so everything I did was geared towards these events. The world ranking took a bit of back seat through this year. From January I will make a renewed push to make the top-10 and try and win one of the big events.