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The Hindu
a day ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
Breaking into top-50 is the main target: Anahat
The 17-year-old Indian squash sensation Anahat Singh, who recently won the u-19, women's doubles, and mixed doubles Asian titles, played her maiden senior World championships in Chicago in May this year. She reached the second round, beating American Marina Stefanoni (World No. 26) and losing to Egyptian Fayrouz Aboelkheir (World No. 13). Shortly after the Worlds, she won the women's and mixed doubles National titles with Joshna Chinappa and Abhay Singh, respectively, at the Indian Squash and Triathlon Academy (ISTA) in Chennai. On the first day of the event, Anahat, who later in June was honoured with the Women's Challenger Player of the Season and the Women's Young Player of the Season awards for the 2024-25 season, spoke about her World championships experience and the key takeaways from it, training with her coach and former men's World No. 1 Gregory Gaultier, and her goals for now. Excerpts: How was your maiden senior World championships experience? I mean, the experience was really good. I got to be around all the top players. It's the biggest event of the year, and just getting to see what it's like as well. Going into the tournament, I knew it wasn't really much of a pressure to win. It was more of just going and doing my best. But along with that, I knew I had a chance to put on a performance as well. So, I put in my 100%, and I tried in the second match as well. But my first match was extremely tough. So, I wasn't fully recovered. But yes, I'm happy with how the whole tournament went. What are the major takeaways from the event? I think just getting to see what it's like — how the senior players (go about it). I mean, I've not really gotten to be at tournaments, and see what they're like and how they're playing their matches. And I think playing at a tournament like the World Championships is completely different to playing at a normal PSA event. The whole mentality is different. It's one of the last events of the year. Just getting to see how the top players are reacting, even when their body's extremely tired and how they're coping up with it. It's just that I'm still quite young. There's still a lot for me to learn on and off the court from them. Did you get to interact with any top players there? Did anyone give you any memorable advice? A few of them said I played well and that I've improved a lot since they had last seen me. And my coach Gregory Gaultier (France, currently resides in Prague) is a former World No. 1. He's training a lot of the top players like the women's World No. 2 (Egyptian Nour El Sherbini), who won the World championship as well. He's overseeing a few of the top-10 players as well. I was able to spend a lot of time with them and once again see what it's like for them playing at one of these events, and how it's different for me and different for them. What key differences did you see between you and the top players? Obviously, the experience (they have) is on another level. I don't really have much of that right now. But besides that, I'd say the strength that they have on the court. I'm still working on that. I've not really gotten to it yet. I've not had much time to do it. But yes, that's something I've been trying to figure out — how to fix a little bit of that and work towards it a bit more for the past few years. I don't really like to warm up and cool down, and everyone has been saying that it's really important. Actually, just the game is only like 20% of it. Besides that, there's a lot more to it. So yes, I think just a few things like that have helped me a lot as well. What does your coach Gaultier bring to the table? Has he brought about any specific changes to your game? There wouldn't be anything specific. But I think overall, my game has definitely improved a lot. Just the confidence I'm feeling when I'm going into court, because when I go to Prague and train with him, I only play with people who are a lot better than I am compared to when I'm in Delhi, where it's people who are a bit worse or even the same level as me. I think just getting to play with people who are a lot better than me has improved my game a lot overall. It's given me confidence to play at the top events as well. How often do you visit Prague and train with him? It's whenever I get the chance, honestly. Because, I don't really get much time. I have school going on as well, so I don't really get too much time to go. But whenever I'm playing a tournament which is maybe in the Europe area, or if I have a big tournament coming up, like the World championships, I make time to go for at least a week; or if in the middle of two tournaments, I get to go and just train with him for a few days, that's also really helpful. You've said that you like to watch videos of your opponents before facing them. Did that help in your first-round match against Stefanoni, or were there a lot of nerves? No, I wouldn't say I was really nervous. But yes, I've been watching whoever I play. It's something that I always do, even if I know I'm going to win — I still do it. Because, it's just important to see what you're going to do inside the court as well. It definitely helps in getting to know what the player is going to do with you. And people's game styles are very different. It's always good to be familiar with the way they're playing as well. In that match against Stefanoni, you were trailing 1-2 before going on to win 3-2. So, how did you manage to cope and make a comeback in the contest? I mean, I had heard about her. Obviously, she's a top-30 player. So, I had seen her play for the past couple of months as well, and she's been doing extremely well. Her ranking has gone up to the top-30 very recently. And I knew I was going to be in for a battle. It wouldn't have been easy at all. I'd say our games are quite similar, but she runs a lot and so do I. But I think she runs a bit more than I do. I realised that I needed to just incorporate my shots as well and play my best. I didn't really go in thinking too much about it. I just went in and played the best I possibly could. What goals have you set for yourself now? I don't think there are too many PSAs lined up for the rest of the season. I have the World Juniors coming up. So, hopefully a medal at or even win the World Juniors. I've been thinking about that for the past three years. I've lost in the quarters every single time. I hope I can break the curse this time around. I'm not in the top-50 (currently ranked World No. 54) yet, and I got into the top-100 just at the beginning of this year. So, I mean, I'm pretty close to it (top-50) now, but there are not many PSA tournaments coming up. So, it might take some time, but that's the main goal (breaking into the top-50) for the rankings.
The Hindu
08-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
EXCLUSIVE — Anahat Singh Interview: Transition to senior circuit, Squash World Championships debut and LA 2028 Olympics dream
Anahat Singh caught the nation's attention in 2022 when she participated in the last Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as the youngest member of the Indian team. Since then, she has proved multiple times that she is a potential star in the making. The 17-year-old is now a two-time national champion and the country's top-ranked (World No. 62) female player in the sport. Under the guidance of a coaching team comprising Gregory Gaultier (Former World No. 1), Stephane Galifi (Former World No. 40), and mentor Saurav Ghosal (Former World No. 10), along with support from JSW Sports, the Delhi girl has made tremendous progress at the senior level. And there is more to come. Currently studying in Class 11, Anahat is part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (Development Group) and is arguably India's best medal hope when the sport makes its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028. In an exclusive chat with Sportstar, she reflects on the transition from the junior level to the senior circuit, qualifying for her maiden World Championships (May 9-17 in Chicago), and the Olympic dream. You played at the Commonwealth Games at the age of 14 in 2022 and, the following year, won two bronze medals at the Asian Games. How did those experiences, so early in your career, shape your journey in the sport? Playing at such events is huge. Doing it at such a young age was possibly one of the best experiences and learning moments for me. By going there and spending time with seniors from all sports, not just squash, I understood what their daily routine is like. Winning two medals at the Asian Games at any age would be a big deal, but getting them so early in my career is something I'll never forget. At that point, I thought I was playing quite well — but two years later, if I watch that video, I feel I was playing terribly. I've improved a lot since then, and one of the biggest reasons would be because of those two events. In the last one and a half years, you began the transition from juniors to seniors. You played many PSA Challenger Tour events and did extremely well. What kind of changes did you make in terms of training, fitness, preparation and scheduling? Earlier, I was playing both junior and senior events. I'm still playing juniors, but not on the Indian circuit — mostly just international tournaments. It's given me more time to focus on what's important, rather than just travelling all the time, from tournament to tournament. It's not about playing events where I'm sure I would win and not really getting much practice. It's more about those that help improve my ranking, offer more practice, and experience as well. Also, in terms of training, I have clearer goals now. I'm not just training aimlessly — I have tournaments to look forward to. I know who I'm going to play, and it's going to be a big competition for me. The time I'm putting on court would honestly be a bit less because I've got school and travelling going on, but it's more focused. It's more about quality over quantity. I've started working in the gym a lot more. I wasn't doing anything earlier, but now, slowly, I'm getting into it. I'm still not used to it — I get very tired and complain a lot, but I realise that at the end of the day, it's beneficial for me. Also, I didn't have a constant coach when I was playing juniors until last year. Now, I have Grégory Gaultier, a former World No. 1, on board. I used to train with Stéphane Galifi before, but now, having both of them and Saurav (Ghosal) together is an amazing mix. They all have such great experiences, and I'm really grateful to have them together. Saurav plans the tournaments I play, especially on the PSA circuit, because the points system can be a bit confusing. Winning matches at the senior level also requires a lot of mental strength. Do you have a mental coach? No, I don't. Thankfully, I don't really get stressed out before matches. Especially, when playing seniors, there's no pressure for me. It's more for the seniors who are playing me. That's one good thing. That's how I'm performing better right now because when I step onto the court, I don't really feel any pressure. It's more when I'm playing juniors because there's a certain expectation. I'm gaining a lot of experience playing with all these players and when I go onto the court, it's not about winning, especially with people who are better than me or at the same level. It's about just playing my best and improving my game, no matter what the result is. There have been many occasions when as soon as your match is announced, you are inside the court warming up while your opponent is yet to be seen. I'm just a bit hyperactive. I like to do everything on time. Whenever I have my match, I always have a schedule - at what time do I reach the court, start warming up and hitting the ball. Sometimes, the match gets delayed. So, it messes with me a little bit but it is something that is a part of being an athlete and that's something I've always done even when I was under-11. If I still look at videos of me when I was a kid, I was always inside the court. I just like to do that to stay warmed up, focused and just play my best. Being the top-ranked Indian must have been one of your dreams. Did you expect it that you'll achieve this feat before even turning 18? I definitely did not expect it and I'm very happy about it. When I was growing up, I had gone to watch my sister play the senior nationals. She was a junior and had received a wild card. I saw Joshna (Chinappa) playing there. I have a picture with her as well. At that time, I was like, 'Oh my God, Joshna! I'm never gonna be at the place where she is!' Back then, I wasn't even playing squash properly. I was still in a mix of badminton and squash. Looking back, I wouldn't really have thought that I would be where I am right now. At that time, I also didn't really think that I would play squash professionally, let alone just reach this level and be in this situation at all. In 2024, you won nine titles on the PSA Challenger Tour and lost just one match. However, at the World Team Championships in December in Hong Kong, you had some really tough losses against Nele Coll (Belgium – Former World No. 4), Amanda Sobhy (USA – Current World No. 8), and Sarah-Jane Perry (England – World No. 23). What are your takeaways from that whole season? Before 2024, I was playing PSA but not properly. I played whenever I had the time or if it was combined with a junior tournament. The Olympics coming into the picture was a huge reason, but I also realised that if I wanted to improve my game, I had to play with people who are better than me rather than those I know I can beat. My dad made me play a few tournaments in India and I started winning the smaller ones. I travelled for a few outside India as well. At my first international PSA (ACE Challenger Tour 12k in Kuala Lumpur), I lost in the quarters (to Akanksha Salunkhe). After that, I was a bit sad because it was my first international tournament and I hadn't really done well. However, I then won a few more in India because we had some bigger tournaments here. My ranking went up, I broke into the Top 100 which took a lot of time, and I realised that I needed to start playing some of the bigger tournaments. The transition was hard at first — just going from playing with people you know you're going to beat and have been playing for years, to playing people like those you mentioned at the World Team Championships who've been at the top for so many years. At the World Team Champs, I played Nele Coll. I had a really close match (1–3) with her. It was on the first day of the tournament, and for the next week, I was so exhausted. That was a huge learning point. If I'm already so tired from just one match, there's a lot to work on. I wasn't really able to perform too well when I played with the other two girls, but after that, in the last few months, I've been working on staying consistent and being able to play at that level for a long period of time, rather than just playing one tough match and then being tired for the rest of the tournament. What was your mindset heading into the World Championship Qualifiers (Asia) in Kuala Lumpur last month? India's Veer Chotrani (left) and Anahat Singh (right), winners of the World Championships Asia Qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT The week before that tournament, I was in Prague, training with my coach, Gregory. I told him that I wasn't playing too well. I wasn't feeling good inside the court. He said it was fine. I was playing with some of the top players. When you're playing with someone so much better than you, you feel you're not playing really well, but he said it would all come together in the tournament. I was not very confident going into the tournament. I was expected to play Tanvi (Khanna) in the semis and Akanksha in the finals as per the draw, but they both ended up losing earlier. I had the whole situation planned out, but it turned out to be completely different. It did give me a bit more confidence because (rather than) playing someone you're facing constantly and are very competitive with, it's better to play someone else who's international and you've not really played against a lot. I was playing well in the first few matches. I won quite easily and the court also suited me. The final wasn't my best game. I was a bit stressed out because you know when you've reached so close to the finish line and you're like, 'Am I going to make it or not?' But I'm glad I was able to make it through. How do you prepare for your matches at the senior level? Does it involve data and video analysis? I talk to my coach either on the morning of my match or the night before, but I also like to watch my opponent's match by myself and see what I can do from my perspective. My coach explains her strong and weak points, but also, analysing yourself rather than someone else telling you is always better. So, the night before, I always like to watch my opponent's match. I might be playing differently that week compared to the week before. So, I don't really like to watch too much in advance. I don't do anything too fancy. Earlier, the Olympics wasn't in the picture but now, the sport will make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028. There is no guarantee whether it will feature in future editions. How did that change your approach towards the sport? They had been trying to get squash into the Olympics for the last few years but it wasn't happening. I think the timing couldn't have been more perfect for me. It's going to be when I am 20 and hopefully, at that time, I'm at my peak. The Olympics is the main aim for every athlete. The training has changed completely. We don't really know what the selection criteria is yet because there's still quite some time left. We'll only know next year or in 2027, but it's probably going to be based on the rankings. Just to be safe, the top 20 should qualify and I'm 60 right now. I have a lot of work left to do. READ | Squash's Olympic dream: Indian players eye glory in Los Angeles 2028 It's also the main reason why I shifted from juniors to seniors because juniors isn't the aim in the long run — the Olympics is. The only way that's going to happen is if I'm top 20 in the world. Just playing these tournaments helps my ranking and helps me understand where my level is right now compared to all the seniors, and where I need to work so that I'm able to compete with them and get a medal as well in the next three years. How have the tournaments at home helped you in your journey? Anahat (right) won the JSW Indian Open, a PSA World Tour (Copper Level) event, her biggest title so far in March this year. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT In March, there were two events — SRFI Indian Tour, Chennai, and JSW Indian Open, Mumbai. I was ranked around 80 prior to those tournaments and because I won both, I reached 60. I had my exams that ended a week before those two tournaments. If I had to play something internationally, it would have been really difficult and I would have still been stuck at 80. Being in India made it so much easier to board a flight, travel and play a tournament where I'm familiar with the crowd. It's a huge advantage playing in your home country rather than somewhere outside because of all the travel and the jet lag. It all pays off in the performance as well. Those two tournaments were really important for me. I wouldn't have qualified for the World Championship if I hadn't won those two. I wouldn't have gone to play in the qualifiers either. What are the major events for you for the rest of the season? I have the World Championship right now and then I have the British Open qualifying (May 27-29), which is the biggest tournament after the World Championship. If I do qualify, the main draw starts just two days later. Then I'm playing the Asian Doubles Championships (June 23-27) in Malaysia, the Asian Junior Championships (July 1-5 in Korea), and the World Junior Championships (July 21-August 1 in Egypt) as well over the summer. RAPID FIRE Which app do you use the most on your phone? Snapchat Which movie did you watch recently? Anyone But You One favourite dish that you can sacrifice for the rest of your life in exchange for an Olympic medal? Sushi One squash player whose style you really like or want to emulate? World No. 3 Hania El Hammamy (Egypt) If not a squash player, which profession would you have picked for yourself? Badminton Which song is always there on your practice playlist? Hall of Fame by The Script
