Interview | I’m trying to win every tournament I play and learn asmuch as I can: Anahat Singh

Anahat Singh acceptable the squash signifier connected occurrence successful Washington past month. Competing astatine the Squash connected Fire Open, the teen produced a simmering accumulation of accomplishment and composure against immoderate of the world’s finest players. By clinching her maiden PSA World Tour Bronze title, Anahat sky-rocketed into the world’s top-20, becoming the youngest Asian to execute the feat successful caller times.

What stood retired was not lone the results but besides her attack — particularly successful the last against Georgina Kennedy. An explosive subordinate with immoderate of the quickest movements connected court, Kennedy is simply a formidable beingness connected the Tour. Yet, Anahat matched her gait with poise, playing the agelong rallies with calmness and not rushing to decorativeness points. To decision the top-seeded 28-year-old from England successful consecutive games (12-10, 11-5, 11-7) was a connection successful nary uncertain terms.

At 18, Anahat, who clinched the JSW Indian Open women’s rubric successful Mumbai past week, is alert that sterner tests prevarication ahead. Among them is the agelong roadworthy to the 2028 Summer Olympics, wherever squash volition marque its debut. She is determined to scope that stage.

In this interview, she speaks astir her goals for the World Junior Squash Championships and British Open aboriginal this year, not being capable to play the elder World Championships, and her burning tendency to triumph the women’s singles golden medal astatine the Asian Games and instrumentality a decisive measurement towards Los Angeles 2028. Excerpts:

This play you did truly well, reaching the world’s top-20. You became the youngest Asian to bash truthful successful caller times by winning your first PSA World Tour bronze rubric successful the Squash On Fire Open. How does it feel?

Yeah, I was, of course, really, truly blessed going into the tournament. No 1 truly expected maine to win. Even now, if I deliberation astir it, it’s like, I inactive can’t judge it happened. And yeah, it’s conscionable thing that was unexpected. And I didn’t truly deliberation astir my rankings due to the fact that I didn’t cipher it for the information that I was going to triumph the tournament. So I thought that I’d lone spell a fewer places up and possibly spell to similar World Ranking 23 oregon 24. When I woke up and I saw posts [on societal media] saying that I was successful the top-20, I was truly happy.

What benignant of position did your archetypal large crown bring to your game?

I deliberation chiefly it’s astir the information that I cognize that I tin bushed the apical players. Before, I’d person possibly immoderate adjacent games with them but I’d ne'er beryllium capable to person and triumph the match. Playing a tourney similar this and being capable to triumph 3 truly bully back-to-back matches... those were matches that weren’t expected to spell my way. Just winning a tourney similar that made maine judge that it’s imaginable for upsets similar this to happen. And that if I’m playing a bully crippled and if I judge successful the information that I tin triumph the tournament, it’s decidedly possible. I’m trying to triumph each tourney that I play and trying to larn arsenic overmuch arsenic I tin done it, whether it’s a triumph oregon a loss.

If you look astatine the erstwhile play (2024-25), you had won nine PSA titles. This season, too, has been bully for you arsenic you managed to triumph your archetypal major PSA World Bronze World Tour rubric successful Washington. Will you opt to play successful much bigger events specified arsenic Platinum, Gold successful the coming months?

I think, yeah, that volition beryllium my archetypal step. I’ve mislaid successful the pre-quarters and a five-setter (to World No. 7 Satomi Watanabe of Japan successful the round-of-16 successful the Tournament of Champions successful January 2026 and to Tinne Gilis in the Windy City Open successful February) successful some my past Platinum events. Taking it 1 measurement astatine a clip and reaching the quarters and doing amended and better. That’s the lone mode retired due to the fact that there’s nary different mode out. Playing the bigger events and getting a accidental to scope the aboriginal rounds, possibly the quarters, semis.

You person a clump of elite coaches successful the signifier of India’s Saurav Ghosal (former World No. 10), France’s Gregory Gaultier (former World No. 1) and Italy’s Stephane Galifi (former World No. 5). How overmuch portion person they played successful improving your skillsets?

I bid with Galifi and Gaultier. They some are my main coaches. And past there’s Saurav, who’s much of my mentor extracurricular the court, wherever helium helps maine with what I should bash for grooming and tournaments. If I didn’t person the squad that I person now, I don’t deliberation I would beryllium wherever I americium now. And getting to beryllium with 3 of them — I don’t deliberation I could get a amended squad than this. They’ve each been apical players successful their time. I americium getting to beryllium astir them and learning truthful overmuch from them due to the fact that they recognize precisely what it’s similar to beryllium astatine this level — each the challenges, each the ups and downs. Them being my coaches is thing that I’m really, truly grateful for.

My crippled has lone gone up since I’ve started moving with them and hopefully, I tin support moving similar that. Having 3 of them connected my side, adjacent if I don’t judge I tin win, the 3 of them, nary substance who I’m playing against, adjacent if it’s a World No. 1 oregon World No. 2, they truly judge that I tin win. I besides person that definite magnitude of assurance and content that I tin bash truly well. And I mean, that’s truly shown and paid disconnected successful the past mates of months.

Apart from the Asian Games which is simply a large qualifying tourney for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, determination is the World Championships successful Giza, Egypt, from May 8 to 16. What are your thoughts connected playing successful the Worlds?

I’m not playing that due to the fact that I person my Std. XII Board exams. I mean, definitely, it is thing that I knew I wasn’t going to play arsenic soon arsenic my exam docket came out.

There are truthful galore different events that hap successful the twelvemonth aft the Worlds. There’s the British Open that’s happening from May 30 to June 7. My main purpose for this twelvemonth is to triumph the World Juniors, which is happening successful Canada from July 20 to 31. As of now, chiefly these are the 2 events successful the adjacent mates of months.

Asian Games is the biggest lawsuit this year. In the past variation of the Games, you won women’s squad bronze, and mixed doubles bronze (with Abhay Singh). This time, the singles victor volition suffice for the 2028 Olympics...

I’m really, truly looking guardant to it. The past clip that happened, we did truly good arsenic a team. And yeah, it was my archetypal clip playing and getting 2 medals was truly amazing. But I deliberation this clip it’s besides a qualifying tourney for the Los Angeles Olympics — whoever wins the singles lawsuit qualifies automatically for the quadrennial lawsuit successful 2028. Going into the Asian Games this clip is going to beryllium a batch antithetic than immoderate different tourney due to the fact that if I triumph this event, I volition person an automatic enactment for the Olympics, which is everyone’s dream. I’m going to propulsion arsenic overmuch arsenic I tin and bid arsenic hard arsenic I perchance tin to effort to get gold.

How bash you prioritise your tournaments starring up to the Olympics?

I deliberation initially it was a batch harder due to the fact that I wasn’t truly getting into each the large tournaments. It was hard to prime and prime which ones I’m getting into. Now that my ranking has gone up, I tin play each azygous tourney now. It’s a batch easier to prime due to the fact that you conscionable extremity up playing successful 11 to 15 PSA tournaments successful a year. You extremity up playing each of the large events similar the Platinum and Gold events. It’s up to you to prime arsenic to wherever you deliberation you’re going to spell and bash well.

Breaking into the top-20 is done. What is your adjacent objective?

Of course, the adjacent measurement would beryllium to get into the world’s top-10. As you spell up successful the rankings, it gets harder to ascent adjacent 1 spot up. It’s going to beryllium rather hard. But yeah, I deliberation if I bash good successful the upcoming tournaments, I tin velocity up my ranking process and ascent higher arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.

Do you play immoderate different athletics to unwind. What are your hobbies?

It’s pugnacious to get clip betwixt squash and school. Whenever I get clip disconnected from both, I similar to paint. Even my dada truly likes it. He’s truly bully astatine it arsenic well. I’ve been doing it since my childhood. It’s thing that I truly bask doing arsenic well. My astir caller 1 (painting) was, fundamentally astir my identity. I made a premix of squash with pictures of Delhi.