14-year-old squash prodigy Anahat ready to shine at CWG
She has made waves on the junior circuit and will now take her first steps in the big league.
Anahat Singh’s mother feels her daughter hasn’t quite fully understood what it means to be a part of the Indian contingent for the upcoming Commonwealth Games (CWG).
“We told her that once you're there, you will realise the extent of this. Right now, she’s more excited about the autographs and all that stuff,” Tani Vadehra Singh says.
Only natural for a 14-year-old.
Earlier this week, the teen was named in the nine-member Indian squash squad for the Birmingham Games as one of the four female players alongside Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal and Sunayna Kuruvilla. Anahat—ranked No. 1 in Asia in the under-15 category—has been making waves in the junior circuit for a while now and the CWG, where she is set to compete in singles and women’s doubles, will be her first plunge into the senior international level. Quite an occasion, stage and age to do that.
“I’m super excited,” Anahat says, her quiet smile hiding it well. “All the players that I’ve looked up to and followed will be there, and for me to be meeting and competing with some of them will be amazing.”
The Delhi girl sure earned the opportunity. Last December, a 13-year-old Anahat lifted the US Open junior title in the under-15 event. By then, she had already won the under-11 British Junior Open crown in 2019 and tasted triumphs in the Dutch Open and Scottish Open. Earlier this month, she also clinched the German Open after being crowned the under-15 Asian junior champion in Pattaya.
Taking note of her junior exploits, Anahat was called upon for trails in April in Chennai to shortlist the squad for the CWG and the now-postponed Asian Games. Her parents, who had only seen her hop from one junior tournament to another, wondered if it was too early for the senior leap. The nudge came from Ritwik Bhattacharya, India's retired squash star who now coaches tribal kids at an academy in a village outside Mumbai.
Bhattacharya has been training Anahat in short stints at the academy during the last year. He’d seen—and played—enough to be sure. “I got on the court with her and I felt the balls coming back way faster than most U-19 boys,” Bhattacharya says. “I have a good idea of what the level is in India, and I thought it will be tough to beat her.”
True to gut, Anahat beat everyone across the different age categories of the trials, except 23-year-old pro Sunayna, to emerge as the overall top two (Joshna and Dipika did not play).
Back in the city where she booked her CWG ticket, Anahat has been practicing alongside the likes of Joshna and Dipika and under Gregory Gaultier, the French former world champion, who is in Chennai for a training stint with the squad ahead of the Games.
Bhattacharya reckons Anahat’s “squash brain is very evolved; she plays like a professional player at 14. I mean, she is a real prodigy. She kind of figures it all out herself.”
Anahat did follow her elder sister into squash, however. Excelling at the under-19 level in the country, Amira enrolled for a bachelor’s degree at Harvard University last year as part of its squash roster. Anahat isn’t sure about shadowing her sister’s path but aims to be a world champion one day. The CWG gig—barring Egypt, most of the top squash-playing nations compete at the Games—would be an enriching starting point.
For now, though, Anahat can’t wait to catch a glimpse of New Zealand’s world No 5 Joelle King in Birmingham. And a javelin sensation from the Indian troop. “I’m excited about seeing Neeraj Chopra, and also (PV) Sindhu,” the soft-spoken Anahat says. “Hopefully I’ll be able to meet them.”
