JSW squash: Fatigued Saurav Ghosal loses in final

Borja Golan (left) checks up on Saurav Ghosal after he slipped and fell in the third game at the CCI's squash courts yesterday

Borja Golan of Spain lived up to his top billing by registering a 11-6, 11-4, 10-12, 11-5 win over second seed Saurav Ghosal in 68 minutes to clinch the JSW Indian Squash Circuit title at the Cricket Club of India's squash courts yesterday.


Borja Golan (left) checks up on Saurav Ghosal after he slipped and fell in the third game at the CCI's squash courts yesterday. Pic/Suresh KK

Golan dominated the first game to take an 8-5 lead before wrapping up the game 11-6 in his favour. In the second game, Golan came into his own, playing some brilliant shots to win 11-4 with relative ease.

Fightback at last
The third game too looked to be heading the Spaniard's way as he led 8-4. Ghosal, however, was in no mood to let go without a fight and clawed back to make it 10-10.

An unforced error from Golan saw the second seed force a fourth game. The Spaniard took control of the fourth game and made Ghosal sweat it out for each point. Golan had a comfortable 9-4 lead and kept the momentum going winning it 11-5 despite the crowd backing Ghosal.

After the match, Ghosal admitted that he wasn't at his best in the final. "He was very sharp today. I couldn't get him into uncomfortable positions for long. Credit should go to Borja as he played really well. I had two hard matches this week, but I cannot blame them for this defeat. I just couldn't play well to beat him," said the 29-year-old.

Meanwhile, Golan blamed Ghosal's mental fatigue for the defeat. "I thought today's final would be very difficult. I knew I would have to play my best to beat Saurav. He has had a tougher week playing two back-to-back five-setter games. I think maybe that was the difference today. Mentally, he was a bit more tired and I took advantage of that. It is really good to win a title after two years."