Mumbai: Abhay Singh is exactly where he was this time last year – in the final of the JSW Indian Open squash. What’s changed is where he is in the world rankings. Last year he finished runner-up while ranked outside the top 60. This time he is eager to go one better on Sunday as the world No.26.
Steady strides over the last year on the PSA tour has seen the 27-year-old break into the top 30, and become the India No.1. That’s a tag Saurav Ghosal wore for years in Indian squash. And the former top-10 pro reckons the current holder of his position is a great example of a player pushing himself to the limit.
“He’s done very well. He’s a great example of someone maximising his potential and talent,” Ghosal said of Abhay while the Indian second seed sweated it out for a 3-1 win over Malaysia’s Ameeshenraj Chandaran in the semi-final in the glass court of Cricket Club of India on Saturday.
“He’s put in the work at the right times. He’s won some good matches on the tour. He deserves to be where he’s at in the rankings right now. And hopefully, he can keep going up.”
Abhay and Ghosal have something else in common. Abhay’s coach is former English world No.1 James Willstrop, a good friend and long-time training partner of Ghosal, who was coached by James’s father Malcolm for long. Ghosal has no doubt Abhay is in good hands.
“James is a great guy. He has a wealth of knowledge. There’s so much that anyone can learn from him. It’s just a question of being a sponge and absorbing as much as possible,” said Ghosal.
Abhay has been all too happy to do that since last January when he teamed up with James. Before coming to Mumbai for the PSA Copper event, he had a training block in the UK where improving physicality was the focus.
“I know that James is someone who’s going to help take me to the top,” Abhay told HT earlier. “He emphasises that even if I lose 3-0 to the top guys, it has to help me improve.”
Abhay has lost some alright, but he’s also had the taste of beating a few top guys on the tour. Last year, he beat the then world No.5 Karim Gawad and world No.20 Gregoire Marche. Abhay is willing to test himself more in the bigger events against the better players, even if it comes at the cost of losing for now with the larger picture of an Olympics push for 2028.
His game style is different to Ghosal’s, who feels Abhay would benefit from adding some more pace to his game while fronting up with the top 10-20 opponents.
“To be able to play the game that he plays, maybe at a slightly higher pace, is probably needed. Because at the top end, everyone’s playing at a really high pace, and (he has) to keep adding things on the attacking side of it,” said Ghosal.
“He’s a different player to what I was, or what James was. So he’ll have to go through the process of figuring out how he wants to do it. How he wants to mould his game to combat the people at the top end. It’s not easy, it’s challenging. It’s a very strong group. But for sure, he’s focussed to do that. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be where he is.”
Abhay will take on Veer Chotrani, who carried on his run in his home city beating Malaysia’s Sanjay Jeeva 3-1, in an all-India men’s final.
Anahat in final
Anahat Singh will defend her women’s title after rallying from dropping the second game to beat Tanvi Khanna 3-1. The Indian top seed will play Egypt’s second seed Hana Moataz in the final.
