New Delhi: India's lone challenge Saurav Ghosal shrugged off a one-game deficit and battled back to beat French qualifier Mathieu Castagnet in the first round of the Men's World Squash Open in Kuwait.
Ghosal, India's number one, defeated Castagnet 0-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 in 56 minutes in the USD 277,500 PSA world tour event at the Salmiya Club in the Kuwait city.
"It was just weird," explained the 29th seed from Chennai after his match.
"He played really well - but I was in the rallies, but everything was wrong, even my body language.”
"It was hard - but I'm really happy to win. It can only get better. It surely can't be worse than 11-0!," Ghosal said.
Ghosal also praised England's Malcolm Willstrop, a former world number two, for his worthy advice after the first game which eventually paid rich dividends.
"Malcolm told me to try and at least look the part when he spoke to me after the first game," added the 23-year-old.
Players from 24 nations are participating in the event, which is the richest in men's professional circuit.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, November 02, 2009, 15:21