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Former PSA President Saurav Ghosal admits the bright lights of Los Angeles played a big part in his decision to make a surprise comeback to the PSA Squash Tour. On 19 February in Sydney, just over a year since he last hit a ball as a professional, his career entered its Indian summer.
The 13-time Indian national champion hit his ‘final’ ball as a professional as he exited in the first round of the Windy City Open last February, then formally announced his retirement in April. Impeccably mannered and well-spoken, as most Malcolm Willstrop protegees tend to be, he was a hugely popular figure in the game. His graceful movement around the court and unique technique (what was going on with that left hand?) made him highly entertaining to watch and a constant menace to the top seeds.
He spent the first six months of retirement seeing more of his family (he is married to Diya Pallikal, sister of his Indian team-mate Dipika Pallikal Karthik) and developing his Saurav Ghosal Squash Academy for grassroots junior development in Dosti West County. But the yearning to play for his country lingered… and the lure of LA 2028 (which one suspects is set to elongate quite a few pro squash careers) proved irresistible.
“For sure it [the Olympics] is in the back of my mind,” the former world No.10 tells Squash Player Magazine.
“If everything falls into place, that is the end point. The Asian Games are September 2026 and the Olympics are July 2028, so it’s two half cycles. LA is still three and a half years away, so that’s the peak, but I’ve got to get through all the basecamps first.
“I’ll be taking it one tournament at a time and one year at a time to assess how I’m doing physically, and feeling mentally. I’ll put the work in and hopefully I can manage the body and mind well enough to get to LA and do something special for India there.”
Enter David Palmer and James Willstrop
He says the idea of a return to the Tour began percolating last September.
He travelled to America later that month and met up with his old coach David Palmer and physical trainer Damon Brown. When he floated the tentative idea of a comeback, Palmer (nicknamed ‘The Marine’ during his stellar career) immediately said, ‘Yes! We can do this!’
Ghosal recalls: “I feel like they almost believe it more than I do! These two guys believe in me so much, so there must be some truth in it!”
The hard physical training began there and his body seemed to respond, after some initial resistance.
“The first couple of weeks were brutal, my body was just revolting, but we got through it,” he smiles.
Then in late December, he went to his former ‘second home’ Pontefract for some squash-specific training with his close friend James Willstrop, who knows a thing or two about hauling an ageing body around a squash court.
“James and I have a very close relationship,” says Ghosal, who trained alongside Willstrop at Pontefract from the age of 18 whilst studying at Leeds University. “He has a good perspective on things. He’s told me not to worry about the squash [ability] going away, even though I haven’t been playing as much. It will be stored somewhere. If you really want it mentally, then it will happen. You might know these things, but you need someone external to validate them.
“I’m someone who wants to plan everything perfectly, but James told me, ‘You have to let go a little bit. You can’t structure everything so tightly. Let go, let it flow and it’ll happen. Now that you have this time [back on court], just enjoy it.’”
On 1 January, Ghosal officially re-registered as a PSA player. There was no going back now.
“Mentally I feel like I still have reserves left in the bank, but I’m under no illusion. I turned 38 in August, so the mind might be saying one thing but the body may not respond, especially at the highest level.
“I’m still not doing as much squash as what I used to. I need to take care of my body a bit more and find the right balance. It’s a trial and error method. Hopefully we can stumble upon the right combination over the next few months.”
A Challenger Tour $6k in Sydney, started on the 19 February and officially marked the comeback.
His family have been supportive of his decision, even if his father did initially say, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ “They are all very invested now,” says Ghosal. “It’s not possible to do this without everyone being on the same page, so I’m very thankful I have that in my life.
“It’s important that I enjoy it. I enjoyed 20 years on PSA, for the most part, so I want to make sure I enjoy the travel and competing, which I have missed. I want to do all the right things, play as much as I can, do well in tournaments and see where it takes me. The end goal is to play for India in the big ones, and win medals for my country.”
Ghosal marked his return with a comprehensive win in Sydney, surrendering only one game throughout the competition. A first win on tour since the Malaysian Open in 2021. Ghosal now sits at No.205 in the world with his next event coming next month on home soil where he’ll be looking to win again to push his ranking back up to where it belongs.
