18 year old Anahat Singh created history on Saturday. Anahat has become the first Indian to win the ‘World Junior Squash Championship’ title. Describing it as a ‘historic achievement’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed confidence that this will inspire more youth to take up this sport.
The Prime Minister wrote on social media platform
After the title win, Anahat said, “I still feel like I am dreaming. For the last four years, I have been losing in the semi-finals and Carter finals. Whenever anyone asked, I always said that ‘this tournament is like a curse for me and I have never been able to play well in this event.’
This is my last year (as a junior) and this was my only chance to win it. It means a lot to me. That’s why I knew that if I was stressed, I would play very poorly, so I just came on the court and played my shots correctly. I wanted to enjoy every moment of playing in the World Championship final.”
18-year-old Anahat performed brilliantly in the women’s singles final of the competition held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, defeating second-seeded Egyptian Ruqaiya Salem 11-3, 11-7, 11-9 and won the title.
Anahat entered the tournament as the top seed and justified her ranking by winning the title without losing any match. With this win, she became the first Indian and first non-Egyptian player to win the Women’s World Junior Squash Championships since American player Amanda Sobhi won the title in 2010. They also ended Egypt’s 15-year dominance of the event.
This win is another important milestone in Anahata’s rapidly growing career. One of India’s most promising squash players, Anahat won two bronze medals at the 2022 Asian Games at the age of 15 and has also represented the country at the Commonwealth Games.
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