By Debayan Mukherjee
Kolkata, Aug 28 : Back in the mix after a long break, Asian Gold medallist Saurav Ghosal is keen to put his best foot forward in the upcoming Platinum events as he aims to climb up the rankings ladder.
Ghosal, India’s top squash player, had his plate full with an eye on making it to the PSA World Tour Finals in Cairo, Egypt in the third week of June when he returned to the city from London in March.
The 34-year old was taking part in the Canary Wharf Classic where he lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Mohamed El Shorbagy.
With the new PSA calendar out now after things were thrown out of gear due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 13th-ranked Ghosal is hopeful of playing in five Platinum events starting with the Egyptian Open in October.
“Since August 1, Ramit Tandon and myself have been playing together at the Racket Club. It’s been a while since we got back on court. Kolkata is hot and humid so we are trying to keep the quality up as much as possible. It’s nice to play again,” Ghosal told IANS in an interview.
The squash calendar will start with the Silver category Manchester Open from September 16-22. But Ghosal is unsure of taking part in it due to the prevailing situation. “I am not sure whether I will be playing that, I will decide in the next 10 days,” he said.
“Then we have five Platinum events, starting with the Egyptan Open in Cairo from October 5. Then it goes on from there till December where we have three in Egypt, one in Qatar and one in Hong Kong. Those are five Platinums I am pretty much confirmed to play in. About Manchester, I am still not sure with flight issues and all. So I will take a call next week.”
Asked about his chances of making the cut for the PSA World Tour Finals, Ghosal said: “The PSA World Tour Finals are on September 27 as of now. I am No. 10 on the list. So, two people need to pull out for me to feature in it. We will see how it goes.”
Ghosal’s aim is to put up an improved performance in the upcoming events. “I definitely want to get up the rankings. Everyone wants to be world No.1. There are a lot of steps in the ladder to take to have a realistic shot at that. So, my focus is on playing better. I want to start playing exceedingly well in the Platinum events. Try to go deep into the draws and win some. That’s what I am trying to do,” said Ghosal when quizzed about his immediate goals with the resumption of the sport post the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ghosal will be hosting an eight-part web series titled ‘The Finish Line’ which documents eight defining moments of Indian sports by recreating the moment by the actual athletes.
From Abhinav Bindra’s Olympic gold winning moment in 2008 to Dinesh Karthik’s heroics at the Nidahas Trophy to Parul Parmar’s World Championship win in 2017 to Leander Paes’s Olympic bronze medal win in 1996, the series will take the viewers back down memory lane and will give them a first-hand account of these historic moments.
“I have always wanted to do something like. There are a lot of stories people don’t know about. Hopefully, all our viewers can take a lot of inspiration from their journeys,” he said.
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from IANS service.