Rather than altering her game, Ghosal says the focus has been on tactical clarity against specific opponents." She's a well-rounded player overall.

I think it's about understanding who you're playing in this event, what your opposition is going to look like, trying to get extreme clarity on how you're going to play them, how you respond to what they're going to do to you and do so in a manner that works in your favour," said 40-year-old Ghosal. Execution, he believes, is the difference between preparation and performance."

There is no guarantee that it will work out. But you have to put the building blocks in place in your mind to be able to have a chance to produce it on court," he reasoned.

Anahat arrives carrying expectations few Indian teenagers have faced in squash. Ghosal's advice is rooted in the mindset that sustained him throughout his own career.

Saurav Ghosal alongside Anahat Singh." The good thing about her is that she's quite carefree.

She's a happy-go-lucky person. So that helps.

I think that's helped her through the years. The expectations go back to the same thing that it's not in your control.

And it's all about perception," said Ghosal." When I was playing, I always thought that if there was expectation, that means people actually believed in me.

And that means I had something about me (that) I was actually good enough. '" The key, he says, is preventing the mind from drifting towards outcomes."

If you just think of it on those lines when you're playing, it's a bit like fooling your mind a little bit with all the necessary information there is to kind of occupy it so that you don't have time to think about, ' Oh, what if I don't win a medal?' Because that is not going to help you win.

That is not going to help you play better." You almost crowd your mind with all the things that you need to do to play well.

And it's almost like the antithesis of an idle mind is a devil's workshopSaurav Ghosal" So you almost crowd your mind with all the things that you need to do to play well. And it's almost like the antithesis of an idle mind is a devil's workshop."

So you don't want that mind to be idle in a negative way. You want that mind to be calm, but you still want things to be going on in your mind which are related to you playing better.

And that's things that you do on court, but also off court. It's helped me over the years and that's what we're telling Anahat to do as well," he added.

Genuine contenders and an Olympic opportunityFormer India coach Major Maniam has labelled both Anahat and Abhay Singh as genuine medal hopes, a view Ghosal shares." There's no doubt that both of them come into these Games as genuine medal contenders.

It would be disappointing for them personally if they didn't win a medal at least." The bigger prize, however, is gold.

Under the qualification system, the Asian Games singles champion earns a direct place at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where squash will make its Olympic debut. Ghosal acknowledges that the Olympic incentive makes the tournament "definitely bigger" but insists it isn't a daily talking point within the camp."

It would be disappointing for them personally if they didn't win a medal at least. Obviously, the big prize at these Asian Games is the gold because that gives you the Olympic qualification spot.

And that obviously is the big one. And it's hard and rightfully so.

Getting an Olympic qualification spot shouldn't come easy." The idea obviously is that whether Anahat wins this or doesn't win it, she is going to gun for the Olympics.

And when you get to the Olympics, you want to try and win something. So it's a journey that has to happen.

Even if she wins the gold here and gets in the Olympics, it doesn't stop there because that doesn't guarantee you anything. It guarantees you being there, but you're not going to be there just to make up the numbers.

You're going to be there to try and do something. So I think that journey continues," added Saurav.

The target: Medal in every eventIndia won five medals in squash at the 2022 Asian Games. (PTI) India entered the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou with eight members, clinching five medals, including two golds.

Alongside Malaysia, India were joint-top in squash medals at the continental showpiece. Three years later, Ghosal stopped short of calling it the deepest team ever, but he leaves little ambiguity about the standard it should meet."

Sport is black and white, right? There's no subjectivity.

I think medals are the most objective barometer, to be honest. We should medal as a bare minimum in every event that we are in."

So, women's singles, men's singles, mixed doubles and both team events. I think that's a bare minimum.

I think if we don't medal in any of those, that's a disappointment. What would really take it to another level is the number of golds that we can get.

His ambitious target is even higher." Let's say three golds.

And one of them is in the singles… if we're able to do that, then it's a cracker of Games for Indian squash. It's not like we're being unrealistic, but it's not easy," he concluded.

Guwahati: Police and local residents seized five firearms and 13 rounds of live ammunition in two separate incidents in Assam’s Golaghat and Kamrup districts, w...