Anahat Singh up for squash world championship, but Olympic medal is ultimate goal
NEW DELHI: By the time the chill of Chicago's late spring curls into the glass walls of the squash courts at the University Club, the brightest young star of Indian squash will already be warming up.There is something both graceful and unrelenting about Anahat Singh 's movements. On court, she is a blend of youthful audacity and a veteran's poise. As she prepares to make her mark on the biggest stage of her career — the World Squash Championship 2025 , Chicago — Anahat carries not just her racquet but the hopes of a nation as India's lone woman representative in the prestigious tournament.The Delhi girl grew up in a family with strong sporting culture. Father Gursharan Singh, a lawyer, and mother Tani Vadehra, an interior designer, both played hockey in their youth.Amira, Anahat's elder sister, was a top-ranked U-19 squash player before enrolling at Harvard University for her bachelor's degree. She continues to compete for the Harvard women's squash team.Anahat's early brushes, though, were not with squash but badminton. Inspired first by PV Sindhu, she briefly flirted with shuttlecocks before the squash court stole her heart. The speed, the strategy, the raw physicality of it attracted her.'I started playing badminton when I was six years old. When I was eight, I started going to the Delhi Gymkhana Club and started playing squash with my sister. Eventually, I started doing a lot better in squash and enjoyed it a lot more as well,' Anahat told TOI .By 9, she had won her first national title. By 11, she was dominating the U-13 circuit, rising to No. 1 not just in India but also in Asia and Europe.Then came a crowning moment for Anahat. She captured the British Junior Open — a tournament considered the 'Wimbledon of junior squash' — in the U-11 category, stunning higher-ranked players with the cold precision of her drop shots.Now, as the grand stage of Chicago beckons, Anahat stands on the cusp of transitioning from prodigy to a professional powerhouse. For India, Anahat's solo representation in the women's draw is symbolic. It's the torch being passed to a new generation. 'I am just excited to play against the best in the world,' she said. 'That's what I've always wanted — to see how far I can push myself.'At present, Anahat is ranked world No. 60, and every match at the world championships is going to be challenging. And yet, one gets the sense that she relishes it. 'I don't really think about rankings,' she said. 'On court, it's just me, the ball, and the walls. That's all that matters.'Regardless of the outcome in Chicago, Anahat holds immense promise for the future. After squash was included as a medal sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the 17-yearold has now firmly set her eyes on an Olympic medal.'Now that Olympics is in the picture for us squash players for the first time, I'm hopeful I can win a medal at the LA Games,' Anahat, who has two bronze medals (women's team event & mixed doubles) from the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games , said.Anahat, currently, has a full team around her with former pros Gregory Gaultier (of France) and Stephane Galifi (Italy) as full-time coaches. Saurav Ghosal, who has won CWG and Asian Games medals for India, is her mentor.
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