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Such an honour: Anahat on CWG experience
At 14 years of age, Squash player, Anahat Singh, is the youngest sportsperson to be representing the country at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022. She talks about her learning from the journey and the bond she shares with some of her senior teammates.
Few people can imagine having the honour of being the youngest athlete to represent their nation at a major international event like the Commonwealth Games (CWG). Squash player Anahat Singh, 14, recently had the chance to fulfil that desire. “It was overwhelming for me at first. When I reached Birmingham (UK), the scale of everything at the Games was amazing. I am so happy to have been able to participate. I sometimes still have to pinch myself to make sure it’s not a dream,” says Singh, who is the youngest athlete to have represented India at CWG 2022.
Talking about her biggest learning from the experience, Singh, who has qualified for the women’s doubles pre-quarters, says, “The first thing I realised is the kind of hard work and persistent effort one has to put in to even get close to winning a medal for the country. It is such an honour to represent your nation, but to get a medal is something else.”
The youngster shares a special bond with her senior teammates and gleams with joy while talking about them. She shares, “I first met my teammates at the CWG trials, and I did not really get to interact with them then. But I have a lot of fun with all of them now. Saurav Ghosal was really nice and he gave me feedback after the matches and when the trials were over. He always had something nice to say. Joshna Chinappa makes me laugh a lot. I get to spend time with and play with Sunayna Kuruvilla, as she is my doubles partner. Abhay Singh gets me chocolates, which is my favourite thing, but he eats them up himself.”
About how she manages to balance her studies along with the regimen of a pro sportsperson, the class IX student says, “I am lucky that my school is supportive and is always there to help me make up for the classes I have missed and also grateful to my friends, who share their notes.”
Author tweets @karansethi042
