Bengaluru, March 29: India's Saurav Ghosal reached the quarterfinals of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Grasshopper Cup, after defeating England's Declan James 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-5 at Halle 622 glass courts in Zurich, Switzerland.
Kolkata-based Ghosal had last reached the quarterfinals of the PSA World Tour Gold tournament in 2015.
The 32-year-old prevailed over James in a 76-minute encounter to reach that stage once again, despite falling to a 0-6 deficit in the second game.
The world No.12 will play World Championship runner-up Tarek Momen of Egypt in the next round, and their match will be shown live on the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour at 1am IST on Saturday, March 30.
"The second game was obviously a key moment because when you're coming back from 0-6 down, it's a big mental hurdle for him to cross," Ghosal, the Indian No.1 told PSA website after the win.
The marathon matchups continued at the @grasshopper_cup as @SauravGhosal & @declanjames1 contested a 7️⃣6️⃣-minute battle in Zurich
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) March 28, 2019
And it's the former who progresses to the next round after a 3-1 triumph - full story ⬇️https://t.co/3pOC0rBYVF #grasshoppercup pic.twitter.com/ePbGQgwIlN
"But he showed how good a player he is and how much of a fighter he is in the third. When I went 0-6 down, I didn't think I was playing too badly, I was constructing the rallies well, but he was hitting winners at the end of the rallies and winning the points.
"Fair play to him, sometimes you have to hold up your hand and give credit to the other guy for playing that well on those points. You have to focus on the next one and take it point by point. That's what I was trying to do, and I tried to do that as much as I could."
Second round result
[8] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Declan James (ENG) 3-1: 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-5 (76m)
Quarterfinals draw
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) v [8] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
(With PSA inputs)