Anahat edges past Pooja in HCL Squash Nationals
Anahat Singh made waves in the Indian sports arena as the youngest athlete to represent the nation at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Anahat Singh
CHENNAI: Anahat Singh cruised past Pooja Arthi of Tamil Nadu and Diya Yadav to qualify for the semi-finals of the HCL National Squash Championship here on Tuesday.
Anahat Singh made waves in the Indian sports arena as the youngest athlete to represent the nation at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. A year later, she secured two Bronze medals for India at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Despite being just 15 years of age, she is labelled as the future of Squash in the country.
At the onset of the match in the R-16, she conceded a few points in the first set. However, Anahat kept her calm and managed to stage a comeback by winning the first three sets in the best of five match-up.
In the world of Squash, the biggest tournament for any player was traditionally the Asian Games. However, in October 2023, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognised Squash as an Olympic sport and the game will feature for the first time in
Los Angeles Olympics 2028. “Until a month ago, the Asian Games was the biggest tournament for squash players and winning a medal at the Asian Games was a dream, and I managed to achieve that at such a young age. It’s a feat not many can achieve. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to play and represent the country,” said Anahat while speaking to DT Next.
Although the 2028 Olympics is five years away, Anahat said, “I believe every squash player will be training for the Olympics although it is five years from now, but I think it requires so much preparation and practice. I believe that this time period will help us improve and work on the collective goal to ensure medals at the Olympics for the country.”
Anahat, who teamed with Chennai’s Abhay Singh in mixed doubles at the Hangzhou Games, secured a Bronze medal, said that, “Playing in both the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games was invaluable. The experience at the Asian Games, playing with such high-quality players taught me a lot, and I believe my game has improved significantly since then.”
Anahat defeated Diya Yadav in the quarter-finals later in the day and is slated to play Urwashi Joshi in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
