Saurav Ghosal Wiki, Height, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Saurav Ghosal is a prominent Indian squash player. In April 2019, he became the first Indian squash player to attain the 10th world ranking in squash. In 2022, he clinched a bronze medal in the singles event in the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham and created history by winning the same for India.

Wiki/Biography

Saurav Ghosal was born on Sunday, 10 August 1986 (age 37 years; as of 2023) in Kolkata, West Bengal. His zodiac sign is Leo. He completed his school studies at Lakshmipat Singhania Academy in Kolkata. At the age of eight, Saurav Ghosal started practising squash in his hometown and joined the Kolkata Racquet Club for professional training. For further training in squash, he shifted to Chennai from Kolkata to be a part of the ICL squash academy in Chennai, where the noted Indian squash trainers Major (Rtd) Maniam and Cyrus Poncha became his mentors. Later, Saurav Ghosal became a part of the Pontefract Squash Club in West Yorkshire for professional training under coach Malcolm Willstrop.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 6″

Weight (approx.): 65 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Parents & Siblings

His father’s name is Prakash Ghosal, and he is the head of the Kolkata Racquet Club.

His mother’s name is Nupur Ghosal.

Wife & Children

On 3 February 2017, Saurav Ghosal got married to Diya Pallikal.

Diya Pallikal is the sister of Indian squash player Dipika Pallikal, who is the wife of Indian cricketer, Dinesh Karthik.

Career

Saurav Ghosal won the German Open (U-17) title in May 2002. In June 2002, he clinched the Dutch Open title.

Saurav Ghosal participated in the British Junior Open championships and bagged the Under-19 Squash title in 2004. Upon winning this event, he became the first Indian squash player to win this title. During the finals of this match at Sheffield, England, he defeated his opponent Adel El Said of Egypt. In 2006, he participated in the National Championships, which were held in New Delhi and beat his opponent Gaurav Nandrajog to become a national squash champion. In the same year, he competed in the Asian Games held in Doha and won a bronze medal. In 2010, he was ranked at 27th world ranking by the Professional Squash Association (PSA).

Saurav Ghosal became the first Indian squash player to reach the Quarterfinals of the World Squash Championship in Manchester, England in 2013.

In 2014, he participated in the Asian Games held at Incheon and became the first Indian squash player to clinch a silver medal in the individual singles event by defeating his opponent Abdullah Al-Muzayen of Kuwait. In 2015, he participated in the National tournaments organised in Kolkata and won a 35k PSA event.

In 2016, he participated in the South Asian games and won a gold medal in the team event. In the same championships, he clinched a bronze medal in the singles event.

In 2018, he won the Vedanta Indian Open title in the National Championships.

In December 2021, the Professional Squash Association (PSA) designated Saurav Ghosal as its President. In August 2022, he participated in the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, where he won a bronze medal in men’s squash singles by beating his opponent James Willstrop of England in straight sets in the 3rd/4th playoff game. Upon winning this event, he created history and became the first Indian squash player to win a medal in Commonwealth Games in the singles event. He defeated his Sri Lankan opponent Shamil Wakeel by 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 in the second round, and David Baillargeon of Canada lost to Saurav Ghosal in the third round of the match by 11-6, 11-2, 11-6.

Medals

World Doubles Championships

• 2004: Silver medal at Chennai in Doubles

• 2016: Silver medal at Darwin in Mixed doubles

• 2022: Gold medal at Glasgow in Mixed doubles

Commonwealth Games

• 2018: Silver medal at Gold Coast in Mixed doubles

• 2022: Bronze medal at Birmingham in Singles

Asian Games

• 2006: Bronze medal at Doha in Singles

• 2014: Silver medal at Incheon in Singles

• 2014: Gold medal at Incheon in Team

• 2010: Bronze medal at Guangzhou in Singles

• 2010: Bronze medal at Guangzhou in Team

• 2018: Bronze medal at Jakarta in Singles

• 2018: Bronze medal at Jakarta in Team

• 2023: Silver medal at Hangzhou in Singles

  Saurav Ghosal after winning the silver medal at the 2023 Asian Games

South Asian Games

• 2016: Bronze medal for India in Singles

Asian Individual Championships

• 2019: Gold medal at Kuala Lumpur in Singles

Awards

Saurav Ghosal was honoured with the Arjuna award in 2007 after he won a bronze medal in Asian Games in 2006.

Car Collection

Saurav Ghosal owns a BMW car.

Facts/Trivia

• He follows a non-vegetarian diet.

  Saurav Ghosal featured his food habit on one of his social media accounts

• According to Saurav Ghosal, Indian squash academies in India like the SRFI-run Indian Squash Academy (ISA) in Chennai lack top-level coaches. In 2018, he expressed in a media interview that aspiring Indian squash players were short of proper guidance in the game.

• The Indian Guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar honoured Saurav Ghosal at the ‘Spirit of Sports’ event, which was organised at the Bengal Rowing Club in 2019.

  Saurav Ghosal with Sri Sri Ravishankar

• According to Saurav Ghosal, listening to music and watching movies are his favourite pastime activities.

• Soon after Saurav Ghosal shifted to England, he joined the Pontefract Squash & Leisure Club. Once, in a media conversation, Saurav Ghosal expressed that it was the responsibility of a professional player to win medals for the country so that one could attract the attention of the common man to opt for such games. He said,
  

  I certainly hope so. As players, it is our responsibility to win medals for the country and fascinate the common men. We are doing just that now. I hope more people get into the sport and help take squash to the next level in India.”

  Saurav Ghosal in action

• Saurav Ghosal frequently posts his pictures and videos on various social media platforms. On Instagram, he is followed by over 10k people. He remains very active on Facebook. More than 49k people follow him on Twitter.

• According to Saurav Ghosal, during his school and college days, his mother took care of his academics while his father was more concerned about his sports. In an interview with a media house, Saurav Ghosal told that his mother used to cook his favourite dishes for him like the Marie biscuit chocolate pudding dessert and non-vegetarian dishes at home when he was young. He said,
  

  Do I put this (ingredients) now or later. She makes lady’s finger really well. Then there are cutlets comprising fish, mutton and lamb. She is very good at it.”

• Saurav Ghosal is an avid dog lover. The name of his pet dog is Cooper. He often posts pictures of his pet on social media.

  Saurav Ghosal with his pet dog Cooper