Saurav Ghosal's Mindset Shift: From Selfish Athlete to Squash Ecosystem Builder

Ghosal, who is now associated with World Premier Squash (WPS) in an administrative capacity as the Sports Commissioner, said the transition from being an elite athlete to working towards the sport's development has required a fundamental change in perspective. "Firstly, it sounds very weird calling me an administrator. (laughs) I don't want to be that," Ghosal told IANS in an exclusive conversation, reflecting on his new responsibilities.

Explaining the contrast between his playing days and current role, Ghosal said professional athletes are inherently focused on themselves.

"Look, as a player, there are obviously differences as a player, you are focusing on yourself as an elite athlete, you are, in a weird away, although we would not like to admit it, we are selfish, we are trying to figure out what is the best just for us and do the best we can and in that process, we do the best we can for the country and all of that, right?" he said.

He added that his current role demands a broader, more inclusive approach. "In the roles that I'm in, it's more about not thinking about me individually but thinking about how we can impact and benefit the entire ecosystem from some angle," he said.

Ghosal emphasised that this shift involves understanding the needs of different stakeholders and creating opportunities that can bring more people into the sport.

"Having that shift in mentality is something that is important to kind of put yourself in other people's shoes, understand what they would like and be interested in, and then serve them things which would inspire, motivate, and entertain them to be part of this beautiful game," he said.

As part of his work with World Premier Squash, Ghosal said the focus is on expanding participation and bridging the gap across the sport's levels. "The whole kind of premise of me getting involved with World Premier Squash was to increase that base, right, to get more players," he said.

He pointed out that while the professional circuit continues to deliver strong entertainment, it remains disconnected from a large section of the playing community. "Long and short of it, we have a strong professional game, but I feel like there are a lot of recreational players who aren't probably connected to the professional game as much as they possibly should," he noted.

Highlighting the need to grow the sport beyond its existing audience, Ghosal said attracting new players and viewers remains a challenge. "And we aren't able to grow and get people from outside the professional, I mean, outside this captive squash audience, to actually watch and play the game," he said.

He explained that the format of World Premier Squash is designed to create a more inclusive ecosystem by bringing together players across age groups and skill levels. "The whole idea is the whole format, the way it's structured is to get a junior who is like 10 years old to a person who is like 65 years old or even 70 to do different skill challenges and condition games and things like that. And be part of this one community," he said.

Ghosal added that such a structure could provide unique opportunities for players who would otherwise not get exposure to the highest level. "Which is kind of like a pyramid that goes up to be able to stand on court with the best players in the world, which would normally not have access to," he said.

He also underlined the importance of digital engagement in expanding the sport's reach, calling it central to modern-day growth.

"Whilst you do this to be able to kind of like create content, which kind of like brings people together, forms a community and creates traction on social media, which is in a lot of ways, the currency of engagement that we use today," he said.

Ghosal believes showcasing grassroots-level action could help draw in new audiences. "If that content, and I'm sure it will be, because there's some crazy stuff that goes on across the clubs, but we just don't capture it. People who don't follow squash will also kind of look at it and say, 'Wow, man, this is actually a great game.'"

Summing up, he said the larger aim is to unify the sport through participation and visibility. "If you're able to grow the playing population in terms of bringing them into like one ecosystem, as well as increase the people actually getting aware of this game and what this game is about and watching it, we would have served the purpose of launching world premier squash," he said.

He added that the initiative could evolve into a central platform for the sport's future. "Making it hopefully like a viral content engine, as well as a consolidation of the entire squash world into one ecosystem."

- IANS