Saurav Ghosal Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Saurav Ghosal is an Indian professional squash player who is widely regarded as one of the best Indian squash players of all time. He won the ‘Gold’ medal at the 2022 Glasgow World Squash Doubles Championships in the mixed doubles event, the 2014 Incheon Asian Games in the team event, and the 2019 Kuala Lumpur Asian Individual Squash Championships in the singles event. He clinched the ‘Silver’ medal at the 2004 Chennai World Squash Doubles Championships (doubles), the 2016 Darwin World Squash Doubles Championships (mixed doubles), the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (mixed doubles), and the 2014 Incheon Asian Games (singles). Saurav also secured the ‘Bronze’ medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games (both the singles and the mixed doubles events), the 2006 Doha Asian Games (singles), the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games (both the singles and the team events), the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games (both the singles and the team events), and the 2016 Guwahati South Asian Games (singles). As per the PSA (Professional Squash Association, the governing body for the men’s and women’s professional squash circuit), Saurav achieved his peak world ranking of number 10 in April 2019. This made him the first Indian male player to have secured a place in the world’s ‘Top 10’. As of mid-August 2022, he was ranked 15th in the world.

Born Name

Saurav Ghosal

Nick Name

Saurav

Sun Sign

Leo

Born Place

Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Residence

He splits his time between Kolkata, West Bengal, India, and Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom.

Nationality

Education

Saurav had attended the Lakshmipat Singhania Academy (LSA) in his hometown of Kolkata.

Occupation

Professional Squash Player

Family

• Father – Rajendra Nath Ghosal (Managing Director at Tide Water Oil Co. (India) Ltd., a leading manufacturer & marketer of lubricants for automobiles and industries; President of the Calcutta Racquet Club, one of the oldest racquet clubs in the world and the oldest in the Indian subcontinent)
• Mother – Nupur Ghosal
• Others – Sanjiv Pallikal (Father-in-Law), Susan Pallikal (née Itticheria) (Mother-in-Law) (Former International Cricketer), Dipika Pallikal (Sister-in-Law) (Professional Squash Player, Arjuna Awardee, Padma Shri Awardee, Winner of 5 medals at the World Squash Doubles Championships, 4 medals at the Commonwealth Games, and 4 medals at the Asian Games), Dinesh Karthik (Co-Brother-in-Law) (Professional Cricketer, Winner of the 2007 ICC (International Cricket Council) World T20 and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy as part of the Indian senior national team), Kabir Pallikal Karthik (Nephew-in-Law), Zian Pallikal Karthik (Nephew-in-Law)

Manager

He has been represented by Baseline Ventures, Sports Marketing, Entertainment & Brand Licensing Company, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Turned Pro

2003

Build

Athletic

Height

5 ft 6 in or 167.5 cm

Weight

65 kg or 143.5 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Saurav has dated –

1. Diya Pallikal (2017-Present) – Saurav got married to Diya Pallikal on February 1, 2017. Diya is the sister of professional squash player Dipika Pallikal with whom Saurav has enjoyed a highly successful mixed doubles partnership. The pair has won the ‘Gold’ medal at the 2022 Glasgow World Squash Doubles Championships, the ‘Silver’ medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games & the 2016 Darwin World Squash Doubles Championships, and the ‘Bronze’ medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Race / Ethnicity

Asian (Indian)

Hair Color

Black

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Toned physique
• Short-cropped, side-parted hair
• Affable smile
• Clean-shaven look

Brand Endorsements

He has been sponsored by –

• Head Sport GmbH (American-Austrian sports equipment manufacturing company)
• Salming (Swedish shoe, sports equipment, and apparel company)
• Ultrahuman (metabolic fitness monitoring mobile application)
• Veedol International Limited (automotive oil and lubricant manufacturing brand)
• Tata Capital Limited (Indian financial and investment services provider)

Saurav Ghosal Facts

1. Saurav, in 2004, became the first Indian ever to have won the British Junior Open Under-19 Squash title. He later also became the first Indian to be ranked junior world number 1 in squash.
2. He holds the record of being the first player to have won the junior national squash championship for 3 years in a row. In August 2006, the Government of India honored him with the Arjuna Award (the 2nd-highest sporting honor in India).
3. When he secured the ‘Bronze’ medal at the 2006 Doha Asian Games in the singles event, it was the first instance of India winning a medal in squash at the Asian Games. As of August 2022, India had won 13 medals in squash at the Asian Games (1 ‘Gold’, 3 ‘Silver’, and 9 ‘Bronze’) and Saurav had been involved in 7 of those (1 ‘Gold’, 1 ‘Silver’, and 5 ‘Bronze’).
4. Just like the first ‘Bronze’ medal for India in squash at the Asian Games, he also won the first ‘Gold’ (September 27 in the men’s team event) and ‘Silver’ (September 23 in the men’s singles event) medals for India in squash at the competition – both at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. In the final of the aforementioned team event, he had bounced back from a game down to pull off a remarkably close match (6-11, 11-7, 11-6, 12-14, 11-9) in a grueling 88-minute encounter to give India a vital 2-0 lead.
5. In October 2013, when he reached the quarter-final of the 2013 Manchester Men’s World Open Squash Championship, he became the first Indian to achieve this feat.
6. In December 2021, it was officially confirmed at the Professional Squash Association’s annual general meeting that Saurav had been named their men’s President. It was one of the 3 new additions to the governing body’s board of directors.
7. In August 2022, when he won the ‘Bronze’ medal in the singles event at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, he became the first Indian singles (male or female) medalist in squash at the Commonwealth Games. In the ‘Bronze’ medal match, he defeated his good friend and defending champion James Willstrop of England in straight sets. James’s father, Malcolm Willstrop, was one of Saurav’s long-term coaches.
8. Before this ‘Bronze’ medal, India had won just 3 medals in squash at the Commonwealth Games – 1 ‘Gold’ medal (Dipika Pallikal/Joshna Chinappa in the women’s doubles event) at the 2014 edition in Glasgow; and 2 ‘Silver’ medals (Dipika/Saurav in the mixed doubles event & Dipika/Joshna in the women’s doubles event) at the 2018 edition in Gold Coast. Dipika and Saurav went on to take this tally to 5 medals when they won the ‘Bronze’ medal in Birmingham (2022) in the mixed doubles event.

Featured Image by Saurav Ghosal / Instagram