Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Just 17, Anahat Singh is learning how to make big moments look routine. On Sunday in Washington, she delivered the biggest result of her young career with the calm of someone who seems to know exactly where she is headed. Anahat stunned top seed, reigning Commonwealth Games champion and world No. 10 Georgina Kennedy of England 12-10, 11-5, 11-7 in a brisk 26-minute final to win her maiden PSA Bronze-level title at the Squash On Fire Open.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The victory was her 15th title overall on the PSA Tour, achieved in just 26 tournaments, and also made her the youngest Asian player to break into the world’s top 20 rankings.What stood out was not just the scoreline, but the manner in which Anahat controlled the contest. In the opening game, she trailed 8-10 but reeled off four straight points to take it, setting the tone for the rest of the match. Having lost to Kennedy in their only previous meeting, the seventh seed showed composure well beyond her years, rarely allowing the higher-ranked opponent to settle.“I’m extremely happy,” Anahat said after the final. “Coming into this event, I played the British Junior Open a few weeks back and I didn’t play too well. I knew in between these events I had some time to train and I did as much as I possibly could to get the best out of my game,” she added.The result, she said, was part of a clear plan. “I knew I wanted to do well in these events, get my ranking up and also put on a performance, and I’m glad I was able to do that this time.”The title adds to a rapidly growing list of achievements. Anahat was part of the Indian team that won a historic Squash World Cup title in Chennai last year. Earlier this season, she reached the semifinals of the Canadian Women’s Open, a PSA Silver-level event, signalling her readiness to challenge top-ranked players consistently.Those around her have long believed this rise was inevitable. “When I met her, she was 13-year-old and already one of the contenders to win the national title. She is like a prodigy,” said her coach Stephane Galifi. “We want her to be in the top 10 at the world level as soon as possible.” Galifi believes her strengths are already evident.“She is very gifted. She learns very quickly, very mature for her age. She has got everything, a whole package. She can cover the court very well, read the game very well. Some players mature when they’re 25-26. She is like a sponge, learning and absorbing everything quickly,” the Italian said.But there is still work to do. “She needs to play more events out of India, have different training with better players. She needs to get a little stronger in terms of fitness because at the top level all players are extremely fit,” he said.For now, Anahat’s breakthrough in Washington feels less like a surprise and more like the next logical step for a teenager steadily turning promise into performance.
