Saurav Ghosal announces retirement from professional squash, to continue playing for India
Apr 22, 2024
New Delhi [India], April 22 : Indian squash player Saurav Ghosal announced his retirement from professional squash on Monday, bringing down curtains to a career that saw him win 10 Professional Squash Association (PSA) titles and multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) and Asian Games.
The 37-year-old was also a former top 10 athlete in world squash rankings, reaching the level in April 2019 and staying there for six months.
"I started my journey on the PSA World Tour 22 years ago. At the time, I never thought in my wildest dreams, I would play professional squash for so long," Ghosal said on social media, according to Olympics.com.
"I am overwhelmed with emotions as I write this message. This sport has been my passion, my livelihood, and my identity for so many years. So, with a heart filled with pride and a tinge of sadness, I announce my retirement from the PSA," he added.
Saurav made his PSA debut back in 2003. He has secured 10 PSA titles and reached 18 finals on that level. In the PSA Tour, he has won 281 out of his 511 matches.
The PSA World Tour is a professional circuit for squash players, similar to the ATP and WTA in tennis and BWF in badminton.
Ghosal's final PSA title win was Malaysian Open Squash Championships back in November 2021, where he beat Colombia's Miguel Rodriguez. His final PSA Tour appearance was back in the 2024 Windy City Open where he lost to USA's Timothy Brownell in the round of 64.
Ghosal secured nine Asian Games medals across 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 editions, including a team gold at Hangzhou 2022 and Incheon 2014 events.
He also has three CWG medals, including a silver medal in mixed doubles with Dipika Pallikal in Birmingham back in 2022. He also became the first Indian male player to secure a CWG squash medal in a singles competition at the same event.
He has also won the World Doubles Championships gold medal after partnering compatriot Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the mixed event at the 2022 Glasgow competition.
Ghosal, however, wants to continue playing for India. "Finally, I hope this is not me saying goodbye altogether from competitive squash. I would like to play for India a little while longer. Hopefully, there is some fight left in me and I can achieve a bit more for my country," wrote Ghosal.
Ghosal also has a stellar career on the domestic circuit and holds the record with 13 national titles under his belt.
