Teen squash star Anahat charts the path for excellence

Hindustan Times

6 days ago

Mumbai: About a year ago, when Saurav Ghosal got on board Team Anahat as mentor and at times also a hands-on coach, he knew that her forehand wasn't at the level it needed to be. Anahat Singh. (Getty Images)
Anahat Singh was told that. But she also had to be shown that.
So, India's 38-year-old retired squash star got on court for a game with the country's brightest teen talent. The condition: they will play only on the forehand side. The challenge: 'let's see if you can beat me,' Ghosal told Anahat. She could not.
'She absolutely hates to lose,' Ghosal said. 'So, that not only exposed the piece of the puzzle in her game, it also made her realise that 'if I need to get better and not lose, I need to get this right'. I would play on that fact.'
A year on, that forehand is a lot more secure, and often even lethal.
It showed in the 17-year-old's outing at the World Junior Championships in Cairo, where Anahat went a step better than last year to secure an individual bronze before losing in the semi-finals. That she was the only non-Egyptian in the last four reflected how her game is a handful for most opponents her age at the junior level.
What also reflected in the semi-final finish was aspects of her game that are work-in-progress. And while in the basic SWOT analysis of where her game is at currently, strengths outweigh weaknesses, there continue to be refinement opportunities as Anahat ends another junior cycle and dives deeper into pro waters. She is already fishing in it as India's top-ranked woman at world No.54.
For Ghosal, three standout features define Anahat's game at present. The foremost winds back to his forehand challenge.
'The hating to lose attitude drives her to push sometimes beyond what she thinks she is capable of,' he said. 'Second, the amount of balls she gets back, especially for the women's game, and the way she can anticipate where the ball is going and make the opponent hit the extra shot, that's been natural from a very young age. And third is her short game. She has good touch. She also has a decent amount of control on the ball for her age, which helps her break up play and put balls away.'
She is also a receptive learner, and the different coaches she has worked with in the past few years is an indicator of that. Anahat is currently training under former French pro Gregory Gaultier, with ex-Italian pro Stephane Galifi also in her team that features Ghosal in a more mentorship role. The teen had also worked with Ritwik Bhattacharya, among other coaches.
The current team has made her a 'different player today than what she was even in March', according to Ghosal, when Anahat won a PSA title in Mumbai amid a rich haul of Challenger level titles to go with her junior dominance. The biggest uptick, forehand aside, has come in her match intensity.
'She used to float in and out in terms of intensity. I feel Greg has a lot to do with ramping that up,' Ghosal said. 'There's also a bit more structure to her game now. She has a better understanding of what her strengths are and how she can manoeuvre the ball around in her favour on a more consistent basis.'
Which means she doesn't necessarily have to hunt for a 10/10 shot every time to win a point. A 7/10 shot, hit repeatedly, will open up larger spaces on court for her to exploit.
'Chances are then that you'll win points more consistently,' Ghosal said. 'These are facets of the game she hadn't explored earlier, and with time she is starting to see the benefits of it. That's the trajectory she is on.'
A trajectory that the former world No.10 sees for Anahat is to bring her to a level where she can be a 'mainstay in the top 10 and even higher'. There's work to be done in that.
The physicality is one part of it, and that will be a continuous process even though Ghosal cautioned against making her a 'muscle woman'. And then there's this one piece that Ghosal believes can further elevate her game.
'We're trying to get her to step up on the T and volley a lot more,' he said. 'The more she cuts the ball earlier, the more the intensity will shoot up. That's something she will have to do at the top level. Otherwise, she will get stuck behind the top women and they will take advantage. It's something that doesn't come naturally to her, but it's a lot better than what it was a year back.'