Home favourite Saurav Ghosal upset world No.15 Cameron Pilley 11-8 11-2 10-12 11-8 in the first round of the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters on Saturday at the Bombay Gymkhana Main Ground Squash Arena.
The Indian, who had plenty of home support, was at his attacking best against his Australian opponent. The match that lasted 77 minutes had plenty of long rallies and close points with the crowd cheering for him.
The Indian who started strong, faced a hiccup only in the third set but he rallied to win the match.
Saurav was ecstatic after the win and threw his wrist band into the crowd said, “This is my biggest PSA win and it’s come in Mumbai. It’s the Mumbai power that’s driving me.
"Pilley was gracious in defeat saying, “Today Saurav played really well and he deserved to win, he handled the conditions well and the crowd support was good.”
Saurav will face second seed Amr Shabana in the second round. Shabana won in straight sets against wild card entrant Mathieu Castagnet 11-5 11-9 11-5. In another upset, 11th seed Wael el Hindi was knocked out by fellow Egyptian Omar Mosaad 10-12 11-8 11-9 12-10.
The other Indian in the fray, Ritwik Bhattacharya will play his first match on Sunday against Englishman Alister Walker.
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