Anahat stands tall to end Egypt’s 13-year streak

CHENNAI: In her last chance at the World Junior Squash Championship, Indian No.1 Anahat Singh ensured she got that ‘trophy’ back home, with a dominant display in Ontario on Saturday.

The world No 20 Anahat beat Ruqayya Salem from Egypt 11-3, 11-7, 11-9 in the women's final of the World Junior Squash Championship on Saturday, to end a 13-year streak, and become the first Indian to be crowned champion.

"It means the world. I still feel like I'm dreaming," Anahat said after her title win.

The triumph is even more special as this was her last year on the junior circuit. "This is my last year (as a junior) and my only chance to win it. It means the world," Anahat added. 

Her success isn’t new for Cryus Poncha, secretary-general of the Squash Rackets Federation of India, who hailed it as a ‘historic moment’ for the sport.

“It is an amazing achievement, Egypt has been a dominant force across gender and age categories. It has been her dream for a decade, and she achieved it in her last try. India has been put firmly on the world map, with that individual title,” he told DT Next.

“We have won doubles in the past, we even won the World Team title but winning an individual is a special first.”

One thing that stood out for Poncha since her early days is the ‘hunger and ambition’, two things that have not left her.

“From her U-11 days, she’s always been hungry and ambitious. She was special, and won every single title that was in her way. But her maturity now has improved leaps and bounds. She’s also worked heavily on her mental skills, and that’s very evident from her gameplay.”

Anahat is so fearless, that even at the age of 14 when she was part of India’s setup for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, all she wanted to do at the squash court was ‘have fun’.

“On the court, she’s always been fast, and very fit. Probably faster than everyone else on the court, quite agile. That rattled a lot of her opponents. Her never say die attitude stands out. Even when she was playing her first Commonwealth Games, at 14, she never flinched. After that event, she just told me ‘I just went and had fun’.”