Asia’s No 1 Saurav falters from commanding position to settle for silver in squash
After the 87-minute-long grueling battle, Abdullah Al Muzayen of Kuwait fell on the court. India’s Saurav Ghosal flung his racket up in the air in disappointment and rushed out of the glassed cage to the changing room. He just lost the squash men’s singles final of the 17th Asian Games at the Yeorumul Squash Courts in a most frustrating manner here on Tuesday.
He waited for eight years to be in the final — lost twice in the semi-finals in 2006 and 2010. And when he was just a shot away from realizing his dream, he blew it away. When a dream shatters, it leaves behind a devastating tale. When Ghosal returned from the changing room for the prize distribution, he looked completely wrecked. There was still some time before he would have to face the person who broke his dream once again as the women’s singles medal ceremony was to happen before men’s. He must be dreading the time he would have to see Abdullah wearing the medal he so wanted to win.
Probably thinking about the chances he missed during the match, he sat on the floor outside the centre court for around 15-minutes. His teammates and members of support staff came one by one and tried to console him but he didn’t move until he was asked to attend the medal ceremony.
Ghosal began the game superbly by winning first two sets and was just one shot away from winning the third. But he couldn’t close the match. The Kuwaiti made a miraculous comeback and won the third set. With each point, the game kept getting fierce and both the players shoved each other, though unintentionally, quiet frequently. The referee issued warnings and even awarded points to the players.
In the end, Abdullah got the better of Ghosal and snatched the gold away with 10-12, 2-11, 14-12, 11-8, 11-9.
“It’s obviously disappointing to lose the match like that. We all know how good he is. I didn’t think I played badly performance-wise. I give credit to Abdullah for how he played today. Congratulations to Abdullah for what he did today,” Ghosal said.
“Some of the shots he executed or even attempted were amazing. He played very well and we are good friends, despite all the tension you might have seen in the match,” he added.
Abdullah called it his biggest win ever. “After the second game I thought I was done. It was over. But I gave it another shot and slowly it worked. It was a very tough match and Saurav played very well. We know each other and are good friends.”
Talking of the deciding fifth game, Ghosal said it was a ‘little shootout’ and he couldn’t have played any better.
“I think it was pretty much one-game little shootout. I didn't think I was under any pressure or any greater pressure than I was before the match. He put together some shots that were amazing and difficult to think. He missed a lot in the first half hour. But later on it worked out really well for him. It’s very difficult to see what else I could have done in retrospect, but I was playing against someone who reacts so well,” he added.