I am eyeing gold medal in Asian Games 2022: Indian squash player Sourav Ghosal

Sourav Ghosal features in the latest episode of Backstage with Boria Season 4. Sourav, who won the first-ever singles medal (bronze) in squash at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022 has his eyes set on winning the singles gold at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. He did win a silver at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. In this candid chat with Boria Majumdar, Sourav shared his views on mental health, his preparations for the upcoming Asian Games and more.

Sourav Ghosal on BWB Season 4 said: "I lost a very close match in the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon and had to settle for silver. I am eyeing gold for myself and my country at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. We have a strong core of boys. Hopefully, we will give our best and try to win the team and individual gold."

Talking about the importance of sports science, Sourav said, "It is the most important. I am 37 now and I would not have been playing had I not got support from my support team who are experts in their own fields. I have been associated with my physical trainer from England for the last five years. I do not get so many injuries as he plans workload well. I have been working with Gayatri Rathore who has been my psychologist for the last one year. I have a nutritionist as well. My diet has changed drastically. All these things put together makes a huge difference. And then you have the family support which makes everything possible."

Sourav also highlighted the importance of mental health for an athlete. According to Sourav, "I think it is very important to understand that whatever we produce as athletes is because of the efforts we put in before. When we go out on the field the mental side takes over. The key is how good you are mentally to produce the result it matters. Everyone has the skill set but one that differentiates from the best is how good you are mentally to produce the performance that matter. If for whatever reason you are not in a good mental state to produce that you are not going to succeed. You need to have the utmost clarity at what you are doing.". (ANI)