Saurav Ghosal has traded his marathoner's physique for that of a buff, chiseled sprinter, but as today's final went on, and the chance of his first Asian Games gold receded, he might have been left wishing he had his old frame. After dominating the first game and a half against Malaysia's Eain Yow Ng, he seemed to tire and eventually ended up with silver again.
It was his fifth consecutive individual medal at the Asian Games but not a single one has been gold. It made his pre-tournament comment even more poignant: "It would be a very nice way to - maybe - finish my Asian Games experience," Ghosal (37) told World Squash about the missing gold medal.
Today's defeat (11-9, 9-11, 5-11, 7-11) to Ng doesn't compare to the heartbreaking loss in 2014 to Abdullah Al-Muzayen of Kuwait (where Ghosal was 2-0 up in the final and had the match ball), but the pain will nonetheless be there. Especially after Ghosal was leading 1-0 and had a three-point lead in the second game. Especially after he had beat Ng a week ago in the men's team event by a 3-1 scoreline.
That had made Ghosal a slight favourite coming into the game (apart from not having dropped any game in the singles event) - he was ranked world no. 19 to Ng's 18. Ghosal had also beaten Ng on another momentous occasion - his 500th pro match - in the Paris Squash 2023 in September, a five-game marathon that Ghosal won.
The match began with a flurry of backhands in the left channel of the court. Ng led 6-1 10 minutes in, but a switch seemed to flick as suddenly Ghosal was outlasting his opponent in the long rallies. A clever sliced backhand saw him take the lead for the first time at 10-9 and he went on to take the opening game.
A quick 5-2 lead in the second saw Ghosal employing the breadth of his variations, but that perhaps sparked the germ of an idea in his opponent's head. Ng began to move Ghosal all over the court, and the deficit was soon made up with Ghosal unable to stretch and reach Ng's drops. It did not help that the officiating was a bit questionable - a stroke at 6-6 against Ghosal saw him exclaim 'How?!' and replays showed he had some justification. It seemed to throw him off and Ng capitalized, winning the second game.
Ng, who had been error-prone for much of the opening two games, found his rhythm just as Ghosal's body appeared to be giving up on him. He visibly tired in the third and fourth games as he willed his body all over the court only for his muscles to not obey his mind. An easy return while trailing 4-7 in the fourth game turned into a tired swipe at the air above the ball - the contest truly over now. Ng completed formalities a few minutes later, and Ghosal had silver, once more.
Saurav Ghosal has medalled in every #AsianGames since 2006
He wins his ninth Asiad medal. Legend 👑 pic.twitter.com/CH4cTHPFJM
- ESPN India (@ESPNIndia) October 5, 2023
Nine medals in 17 years at the Asian Games and undoubtedly India's best male squash player ever. Yet, the questions after his silver were if this was his final Asiad. Ghosal left the door open, telling PTI: "Things are still very raw. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. If it is, I know that I gave it my best shot. I did everything. I trained as hard as I could. If I do walk away into the sunset, I can walk away a proud man."
Most 37-year-olds would walk away. Most ought to. That Ghosal still persists day-after-day, year-after-year in pursuit of his ambitions shows why this shouldn't be his final Games. He won his first individual Commonwealth Games medal last year, what's another three years for an Asiad gold?
Speaking to the PSA World Tour a year ago, Saurav noted the reason behind his continuity, saying "Since I turned 30, I ask myself every year and ask myself if I'm good enough to get there. Do I feel mentally and physically ready to push again? And only if that answer is yes, do I keep going."
Ghosal's body will probably be the first to quit, not his heart, nor his mind. It may be another silver for Ghosal today, but his chase for the gold in 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya will still continue. Maybe.