Saurav clinches Malaysian Open Squash C'ships title

KUALA LUMPUR: India's Saurav Ghosal clinched the 2021 Malaysian Open Squash Championships after beating Colombia's Miguel Rodriguez in the men's singles final, here on Saturday.

Seeded two and ranked 15th in the world, Ghosal outclassed top seed Rodriguez 11-7, 11-8, 13-11 in 55 minutes to seal the 10th PSA title of his career. With this, he became the 1?st Indian to be crowned the Malaysian Open Champion - a PSA World Tour Bronze event.

Ghosal was in complete control of the final right from the beginning. He won the first game 11-7 before clinching the second game 11-8. The Colombian did give the Indian a tough fight in the third game, but the Ghosal maintained his composure to clinch it 13-11 and bag the title.

"Obviously it feels great. I beat some good players along the way. The final was a high-quality match. As much as the third game, the second was tough too as I was trailing 0-7. The victory is a reward for all the hard work I've put in," said an elated Ghosal after the win.

It was Ghosal's first PSA Tour title in three years. He last won a PSA title in the 2018 Kolkata International Open.

The 35-year old Ghosal made it through to the final relatively untroubled as he won all three of his matches by a 3-0 margin. On the other hand, Rodriguez came close to falling to a shock defeat against Japan's Ryosei Kobayashi in the second round, eventually coming through to win 12-10 in the fifth. IANS

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