A gold was there for the taking, but Saurav Ghosal let the opportunity slip. He squandered a two-game advantage and narrowly missed out on becoming the first Indian squash player to win the yellow metal at the Asian Games, in Incheon on Tuesday.
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Ghosal won the first two games of the gold medal match but Kuwait's Abdullah Almezayen staged a dramatic fightback, winning the next three, to emerge triumphant 10-12, 2-11, 14-12, 11-8, 11-9, at the Yeorumul Squash Courts.
Ghosal missed out on a gold medal point with the scoreline reading 12-11 in the third game, which eventually proved decisive.
He needed 21 minutes to take the first game before consolidating his position by clinching the second in just six.
The Kuwaiti then staged a grand fightback as he took 19, 12 and 17 minutes respectively to win the next three games.
After the match ended in agony for him, the Indian ace threw his racquet in frustration before storming into the changing room.
This was world No 16 Ghosal's best showing in the Asian Games.
Going into the Incheon Games, the 28-year-old had three Asian Games medals to his name -- a singles bronze in 2006 at Doha and two more, including one in doubles, in the 2010 edition in Guangzhou.
The Kolkattan made an effort but that last push was one that never saw the light of the day.
