Saurav Ghosal goes down fighting against world no.1 Diego Ellias in pre-quarters of World Championships

05/08/2023

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In the pre-quarterfinals of the World Championship, Saurav Ghosal, the best male squash player from India, fell to Diego Ellias after a difficult five-match struggle. In a long match, Ghosal, who last advanced to semifinals of the top tournament four years ago, lost 11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 3-11, 10-12.

After taking a 2-0 lead, Ghosal blew it by dropping the following two games, forcing a decider. At 10-10 in the fifth game, the 36-year-old failed to convert the critical points, throwing the match open to anyone. Before the Peruvian player won the game, the Indian player committed an unforced error to make the score 10-11.

Elias, who is 10 years Ghosal's junior, praised the Indian veteran during a tiresome match. Ghosal, who has led Indian squash for the past 20 years, competed in his first world championship match back in 2005.

"Saurav was playing great squash from the beginning. He had a good game plan against me and I couldn't figure it out at the start. It took me a couple of games and I'm just very happy I could come back from that because I was under a lot of pressure and I didn't start in the best way."

"I wasn't moving great. I think I can improve a lot of things for the next match and just be way more aggressive. Hopefully, I'll be moving better in the next one," said Ellias.

Over the years, Ghosal and Ellias have engaged in protracted combat. The Tournament of Champions in New York last year saw the 16th-ranked Indian push Ellias to five games. The last time Ghosal defeated the star from Peru, it was in 2016.

(With PTI inputs)