India’s Saurav Ghosal produced a scintillating performance against Malaysia’s Mohd. Azlan Iskandar to earn an unexpected place in the pre-quarterfinals of the Sky Open on the opening day at the Petrosport Club in Cairo.
Unseeded Ghosal, ranked 27th in the world, defeated 16th-seeded Iskandar 11-9, 4-11, 11-8, 11-2 in 52 minutes in the USD 1,50,000 PSA championship to achieve his first success in a Super Series event this year.
Ghosal went into the match against higher ranked Iskandar following four successive Tour defeats by the Malaysian.
But the rising star from Kolkata, who has become India’s highest-ranked player of all-time, made his breakthrough against Iskandar in last month’s Asian Team Championships — beating the world number 18 for the first time in his career.
Ghosal now goes on to tackle the event’s biggest name, top-seed Ramy Ashour — the world number one looking to earn his first Super Series crown of the year in his home city.
