Squash, Saurav Ghosal interview: ‘People enjoyed watching me, this was the legacy I wanted to leave’

For over 21 years, Saurav Ghosal has followed a disciplined and measured routine. All that changed on April 22.

Ghosal, the only Indian man to break into the top 10 world squash rankings, announced his retirement from the Professional Squash Association, or PSA, Tour on April 22. It brought to an end a journey that lasted over two decades, was peppered with 10 tour titles and 13 national championships.

He has won three medals at the Commonwealth Games – including being the only Indian to win an individual medal in squash – and is a nine-time Asian Games medallist, with two gold medals.

He has not however, completely hung up his racquet, as he will compete for the Indian team at events like the World Team Championships in December. But after all these years grinding it out in a highly-physical sport, the 37-year-old from Kolkata has earned some time off to indulge in those few plates of desserts and carefree nights out.

Excerpts from Ghosal’s interview with Scroll:

After all this time, this would have been a difficult decision to have made. But why now?

Since the Asian Games last year, I’ve been feeling, both mentally and physically, that I’ve been running on fumes. Mentally, I felt a little bit jaded and I felt...

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