Apart from national champion Ghosal and world No. 30 Ong Beng Hee of Malaysia, who is the second seed, the other top players include 2013 runner-up and world No. 47 Mohd. Ali Anwar Reda of Egypt, world No. 44 Abdullah Al Muzayen from Kuwait and Christopher Gordon of US, among a host of overseas players.
Also in the fray are India's Mahesh Mangaonkar, ranked 75 in the world, Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (80), Ravi Dixit, Ramit Tandon and Kush Kumar.
Four qualifiers will join 12 elite players in the main draw that kicks off the knockout pre-quarter-finals, it was announced at a media conference here today.
The champion in the six-day tournament would take home USD 4,500 or 19 per cent of the total prize fund, explained former national champion and PSA's India representative Ritwik Bhattacharya.
"This tournament is good because in India there is a lack of big events where Indians get a chance to earn ranking points. Saurav (Ghosal) has to reach the final and win it but Beng Hee will be quite a challenge," Ritwik said.