After Hangzhou high, Mahesh Mangaonkar has LA dreams!

Mahesh Mangaonkar with his parents Dayanand and Anjali outside their Borivli home in Mumbai. PIC/Anjali’s personal collection

AFTER the high of winning the team gold with Saurav Ghosal, Abhay Singh and Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu at the recently-concluded Asian Games in Hangzhou, Mumbai's squad star Mahesh Mangaonkar, 29, hopes to have an Olympic medal in his cabinet. His dream can come true since flag football, squash and cricket are set to be included at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. "I have a couple of years left before I take a call on retirement. Since squash will be included in the 2028 Olympics, I do want to take a shot at an Olympic medal. I surely want to play one more Asian Games. I want to push myself and be fit till the LA Games in order to fulfil my dream of being a part of the Olympics and winning a medal there. I will be 34 then, so hoping for the best," he told www.mid-day.com.

Also Read: ICC World Cup 2023, IND vs PAK| It's scarring, it's a pasting: Ramiz Raja slams Pakistan after loss to India

At the moment, Mangaonkar is excited about his next assignment - Director of Sports at the Norwegian Squash Federation. After Tuesday's felicitation for Asian Games medal winners in New Delhi, he flew to Oslo, Norway. "I am super excited about my new job in Norway. The Norwegian Squash Federation was looking for a person for the position of director. Since I was the national coach for the Finnish team till August, they got in touch with me. I can't wait to go there and start working from October 15. It [this job] is a stepping stone for me after squash. My job will include setting up squash player development, sports and club development programs. That is something that I love doing," remarked Mangaonkar, who barely got a day to spend with his parents Dayanand and Anjali at their Borivli home.

In China, the Indian team defeated Pakistan 2-1 to clinch gold. In the final, Mangaonkar lost his opening match to Pakistan's Nasir Iqbal 0-3. Later, Ghosal defeated Asim Khan 3-0 to level the tie. In the decider, Abhay registered a thrilling 3-2 win over Noor Zaman. Interestingly, India had lost 1-2 to Pakistan in the pool stages.

Talking about the gold, Mangaonkar said it was a bitter sweet moment for him. "I was extremely upset, losing to Naseer Iqbal. It was nerve-wrecking. Winning gold was a proud moment for me, the team and for Indian squash. We had a tough draw in the pool stages, but managed to come through. Unfortunately, we lost to Pakistan in the pool stages and that kind of motivated us to do well in the final. It was a good retaliation and revenge for us. Special thanks to Saurav [Ghosal] for being a great leader. He has been an inspiration to juniors including myself," said Mangaonkar, who will play in European League matches in the next few months.
On the personal front, Mangaonkar got married to social worker Maarit from Finland earlier this year and is happy that his wife will join him in Oslo.