Why do we play elite sport? Money? Fame? Love for the sport?
– Boria Majumdar
These are questions that are often debated. When you lead a sport for a good decade and more in a country like India, the questions become even more relevant.
When you see a domestic player get crores in the IPL, a WPL player get a quarter of a million dollars, do you then think why is it that someone like a Saurav Ghosal who has led Indian Squash for years don’t get anything close to it? Not even a 20th of it!!
Does it play on his mind? Why is it that the sport is not monetised more? Not enough corporate backers.
What’s the future of the sport in India? Will youngsters take to it in the future?
In such a scenario how does Saurav motivate himself year or year to push for excellence? Continue to play the circuit when there is little coverage? Except a few twitter accounts and websites, hardly any mainstream media covers the circuit. Does he feel cheated that the media doesn’t accord recognition where due?
The only individual CWG medal winner in squash! @SauravGhosal looks back – heartbreak in 2018, coming back winning a medal in CWG and targeting Asian Games Gold! Listen to what Saurav says 👇@BoriaMajumdar @AgeasFederal @Wowmomo4u #BackstageWithBoria #SauravGhosal pic.twitter.com/mkLO5vuqmP
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) March 21, 2023
And yet they kick on. Strive for excellence. There has to be a deep reason behind it. That’s why you play sport. For the love of it. For the urge to excel. Make a difference. Stay healthy. Inspire. And that’s what makes Saurav Ghosal or Joshna Chinappa athletes to look up to. There are few like them in India.
We at RevSportz have always believed in covering sport holistically. Go deeper. Celebrate the athletes who make a difference. And today as he starts his OPTASIA campaign in London, a tournament he had to withdraw from last year after winning R1, we celebrate Saurav Ghosal as part of today’s Backstage With Boria. It is a deep belief that we must do sport in totality. That’s where legacy can be built.
Do watch and think- what makes a Saurav Ghosal and how hard is it?