New Delhi: Squash star Saurav Ghosal has set out a clear agenda to win medals at the Commonwealth and Asian Games in 2014 following his impressive run this year, which saw him clinch one of the biggest PSA Tour titles of his career.
"The year has been pretty good for me. I would like to carry on my good show on the circuit in 2014 and make the semis and finals of the big events on the regular basis. My target for the next year is to bring glory to the nation in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games," Ghosal told PTI.
"I played well in most of the PSA events. There's always a scope to get better at things. I played against a lot of good players this year and came up with good performances," he added.
It has been quite an eventful year for India's No.1 men's player Ghosal, who rose to a career-high of 15th in the world rankings riding on his historic appearance in the World Squash Championship in Manchester.
Ghosal had created history by becoming the first Indian male player to reach the quarter-final of the Championship where he suffered a straight-game defeat against world number one Ramy Ashour.
The Leeds-based player added another feather to his cap by becoming the new 'Windy City Open Squash' champion in Chicago. The victory was all the more sweeter for Ghosal as he defeated Pakistan's No.2 Yasir Butt in the final.
He also reached the semifinals of the Montreal Open tournament, besides helping the Indian contingent finish seventh in the World Team Squash Championship in France.
Another target next year for Ghosal is to break into the top-10 in the world rankings.
"That's a magical number for me and for a lot of other players. I want to be there very soon. That's the next target and then become World No.1 someday. Till then I am not a satisfied player," he said.
Ghosal, who participated in 13 global tournaments this year, will be next seen in the Tournament of Champions in New York in January.
Ghosal said the country needs to organise more squash tournaments, improve the training facilities and infrastructure to produce a new generation of players.
As the discussion veered towards the engagement of his long-time friend and doubles training partner Dipika Pallikal, who got engaged to cricketer Dinesh Karthik last month, Ghosal said he met the couple in Chennai and wished them all the best for a great life ahead.
"I have known her for long. I met her in Chennai and wished her all the best for a great marital life ahead. I am happy for her and Dinesh. She is excited about this relationship," he said.
Asked about his plans of marriage, Ghosal said, "A lot of my friends are engaged or married. But that does not mean that I should also get hooked. I am seeing someone...that much I can reveal to you. She is not a player. Rest, I'll leave it to you guys to do some guessing work."
