Saurav goes down in Punj Lloyd Masters squash

NEW DELHI - India’s Saurav Ghoshal went down fighting to Amr Shabana of Egypt 5-11, 6-11, 11-6, 9-11 in the pre-quarterfinals of the Punj Lloyd Masters squash here Thursday.

The first point of the match between Saurav and four-time world champion Shabana produced the longest rally and got the sparse crowd on the edge of their seats.

The Egyptian’s sterling display of drop shots and cross court smashes proved too hot for the Indian. The crowd saw some quality play in the second set when Shabana hit seven winners in a row.

Saurav, ranked 22, managed to win the third set but in the end Shabanas experience of wining 26 PSA titles came in handy as he sealed the tie in the fourth game.

Sauravs coach Malcolm Willstrop said the Indian gave his best against a “perfectionist” at work .

“Saurav was magnificent but you cant do much when you have someone like Shabana playing the perfect game. He just did not do anything wrong in the second set, in fact, Saurav did incredibly well to score six points,” said Willstrop.

Shabana had got better of Saurav even in last year’s Punj Lloyd Masters in Mumbai.