Ghosal ready to roar

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It was a measured climb for squash star Saurav Ghosal until injury laid him low.

The 25-year-old has recuperated rather quickly from the twin tear he suffered on his left foot and is all set for the highly competitive Australian Open.

Currently enjoying a world ranking of 26, Saurav will be hoping for a good performance at Canberra. Beating Cameron Pilley in the PSA Masters and losing to Aamir Atlas in the opening round of the Saudi International ensured Saurav witnessed the two imposters in succession this year.

The five-time national champion has a lot to look forward to in the coming months. Excerpts from his exclusive interaction.

On his comeback from injury: Well just got to accept injuries as a part of life and keep moving on. It was a big blow as it occurred during the Irish Open semi-final.

I was in crutches for a while before starting to train again. I am sure all this is a thing of the past and looking forward to the Australian Open to further improve my ranking.

On his current PSA ranking of 26: I look at it slightly differently, to me there are 25 players better than me at the moment and a few others in the top-30 who are as good as me.

My job is to constantly improve and look at reaching the top-16 as quickly as possible. My priority is to do well against the best in the world.

On his preparation for the Oz Open: I still train at the Wilsrtrop Academy in Leeds, UK and the Indian Squash Academy.

At this stage of my career there is not much I can do to altering my game. It is a question of doing the right things consistently and also making those subtle changes against certain opponents.

On squash continuing to struggle for recognition from the International Olympic Committee: Losing out from the 2016 games was a huge disappointment for the squash fraternity.

It is a tough sport and one requires supreme levels of fitness and skills to excel in squash. Players deserve a platform like the Olympics to showcase their skills.

The two bronze medals that I won in the Asian Games gave me immense satisfaction and nothing can replace the feeling of doing well for your country.

Having been accepted in principle for the 2020 Games is a positive sign. Squash deserves to be in the Olympics.

On the progress the game has made in the country: The results in the World Juniors is really encouraging. There are some fine young talents and it will not be long before we enter tournaments as favourites.