Meet Saurav Ghosal, the comeback king of squash
Summary
At the age of 38, Saurav Ghosal came out of retirement to win a major international squash tournament. Now, he's eyeing the Olympics
When Saurav Ghosal was wrestling with the idea of coming out of retirement, he bounced it off two people on whose expertise he has come to rely: former coach David Palmer and friend, rival and guide James Willstrop. Their response was swift and upbeat: “Let’s do this!" “I told them, this can’t be such a short conversation," Ghosal says. “I’m very grateful to my team. Especially coming from people of that stature who have done so much in their own careers. It’s almost like they believe in my ability more than I do."
And with good reason. Ghosal, who had retired from the tour in April 2024, announced his return by winning the first tournament back. He defeated world No.142 Abdelrahman Nassar of Egypt 11-2, 11-6, 11-2 in the final on 23 February, to win the Octane Sydney Classic 2025. Seeded second at the PSA (Professional Squash Association) Challenger event, the Indian dropped only one game throughout the tournament.
“It’s just nice to come back and start on a winning note," he says. “I had to start from scratch. There are no guarantees in life, but I knew that if I could keep the body all right, and with the level I was at, I had a shot. Also, everyone was very welcoming. Even after the final, Abdelrahman said, ‘It’s great to have you back.’ That’s a nice feeling, to know, people around you, your peers and rivals want you to be there."
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The soft-spoken, mild-mannered Ghosal, transforms into a beast when he enters the glass cage, lunging, hauling his body across the squash court to retrieve every single ball he can.
For two decades, he has been the flagbearer for Indian squash. In a stellar career, Ghosal broke into the top 10 in the world, has three Commonwealth Games medals, including a historic singles bronze in 2022, nine Asian Games medals, including two team golds in 2014 and 2022, and has won 11 tour titles. But the PSA title in Sydney marked a new beginning for the Indian. The start of possibly the toughest journey of his career.
At 38, Ghosal has joined the race for the LA Olympics 2028.
After years of effort and heartbreak, and being rejected on four occasions, squash was finally included in the Olympics programme for the LA Games in October 2023. A former PSA president, Ghosal was in Mumbai for the International Olympic Committee session that rubber-stamped squash’s inclusion. And now as his sport awaits its biggest moment, under the bright lights of LA, the Indian is giving it his all to be there.
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“When I announced that I’m quitting (the tour) last year, I always wanted to play for India," says Ghosal. “But I had to go away for a little bit. If I did play for India, I didn’t want to just play to make up the numbers. I wanted to play to win things that I hadn’t."
Ghosal is part of the golden generation of Indian squash, which includes Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal. The three of them have won some of the biggest prizes on offer in squash while playing for India and have spurred on the next generation of players. India currently has two players in the men’s top 50 and teenager Anahat Singh has steadily risen up the ranks since her breakthrough at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“In the last few years, the number of squash players has increased," says Ghosal. “We’ve created quantity and now we need to convert that into quality. The aim cannot be limited to winning junior Nationals and Asian Juniors. It has to be more ambitious in terms of winning British Junior Opens, World Juniors getting into top 20, top 15 in the world and those are the goals that need to be fed into the system from very early on." During the hiatus, Ghosal dabbled in coaching and setting up training camps. While it may have inspired a few young minds, it also helped him refresh perspective.
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“When you’re helping someone else, you have to break it down in your head a little bit more. And I think that process has always given me more clarity of what my identity as a player is," he says. “My game is that I want to explore all the corners of the court and find a way to outmanoeuvre my opponents, and impose my tactics more consistently."
Once the comeback was on track, he went back to his coach Palmer, physical trainer Damon Brown and his old stomping ground Pontefract squash academy in England, to train with Willstrop. “First couple of weeks were brutal," he says. “The body had forgotten everything. That was painful. But I think eventually after that the body follows the mind."
He re-registered as a player with the PSA at the start of the year. Points earned from PSA events determine a player’s world ranking, which is crucial in entering tournaments and earning an India call-up and possibly making the cut for the Olympics. Ghosal, who peaked at world ranking of No.10 in April 2019, put a life of leisurely retirement on pause, to embark on the arduous climb up the rankings ladder once again.
“The first time around, I was unsure of what level I was at. I was trying to just get up in the rankings," he says. “Now when I’m starting out, the level is a lot higher. I have the experience and know how to win. That’s comforting. When I was 16 years old, I didn’t wake up every morning thinking what I need to do to take care of my body."
Preserving his body for the challenges ahead is one of the priorities for Ghosal. He wants to strike a balance between improving his ranking (which had risen to 205 after the Sydney triumph) and making sure he stays up to the task physically. The first target is making the team for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games next year. The Olympics are still sometime away, and apart from the rankings race, Ghosal will also be tussling with time.
“I’ll be almost 42 by the time LA comes around," he says. “Because of the age and the miles, we are limited in what we do and how much we do. We know how much time we spend on court, in the gym doing either strength work or rehab work. I can’t do what I’ve done for the last 20 years and play 15-17 tournaments in a year. That’s going to be too much for the body to take and also for the mind to stay fresh. We’re trying to be as smart and as scientific as possible."
As he prepares for the Olympian task, Ghosal wants to keep up the intensity but not lose the joy of playing. “It’s important to have the happiness of it all too and not just purely focus on the results," says Ghosal. “It’s a different kind of ride…Hopefully, it’s going to be fun."
Deepti Patwardhan is a sportswriter based in Mumbai.
