Crowd roars as Saurav soars past Marwan Elshorbagy in Kolkata final
By LIESL GOECKER – Squash Mad Correspondent in Kolkata
The crowd was a one-sided beast today, as hometown hero Saurav Ghosal (IND) played the final of the Kolkata International against Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY).
Ghosal was on fire from the first serve, setting a punishing pace that had the bigger player scrambling to keep up.
Ghosal was aided by a couple of strokes in the first game, and spent the next two keeping Elshorbagy from getting in his shots.
It was a vicious circle. As Elshorbagy grew more frustrated, his game saw more errors, and while he gave Ghosal some trouble with his lengths, couldn’t manage to get a rhythm going against the local favourite.
So Ghosal took home his first 35k tournament win on home turf to uproarious applause, 11-7, 11-2, 11-7 in 43 minutes.
Ghosal said:Â “I am obviously extremely happy to win a 35k final after being in two finals in two months. Doing it in my own club, in my own city is extra special.
“Beating two top-15 players, Stephen in the semi-final and Marwan in the final, is something I can be proud of. Thanks to sponsors JSW, Reliance, and the club and the organisers for making it a great event for PSA players.”
Pictures by NITESH SQUAREÂ