Squash: For 15-year old prodigy Anahat Singh, a journey of passion and perspective | Sport-others News

Spotlight has come early in Anahat Singh’s life. At an age where almost anyone would still be trying to figure out what they want their careers to be, the 15-year old Anahat has a path in front of her. But along with that, she has perspective too.At the Asian Games, when India played Hong Kong in the women’s team semifinal, Anahat was up against a top 50 player in the world in Lee Ka Yi with the match poised at 1-1. A win for her, unlikely as it should be on paper, would have taken India to the gold medal match. After losing two hard-fought games, Anahat put together a sensational run to save eight match points and had the momentum on her side but eventually lost.
As she stepped out of the court, she sat on the bench and stared into the dance. India had won bronze, but the teenager found it tough to digest the fact that she couldn’t pull off the win for India.
“I really wanted us to reach the final. I was so close. I could have gotten it back. I could have won it,” Anahat tells The Indian Express. “I was just thinking about how great it would have been to play the final. I was sad that I wasn’t able to do it for the team. After the match for a few minutes, I was quite blank.”
How does someone so young deal with the lows of a defeat like that? She inss she won’t get carried away, either way.
“I honestly, handle the wins and defeats the same way. I let go of them as soon as I can,” she adds. “If I lose, I try not to be too sad about it and if I win, try to not be too happy as well. If you are stuck on one achievement or one loss, then you are not able to move forward and achieve the next goal. And I am so young right now, I don’t need to be too upset about something that happened at such a senior level.”

#AsianGames #HangzhouAsianGames
This was a little bit heartbreaking to see but chin up, Anahat Singh. That was a truly special effort. 3 hard-fought games against a player 14 years older and in the top 50, saving 8 match points.
What a talent she is. https://t.co/eTqVPZsZGI pic.twitter.com/owKw1Q5SlR
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) September 29, 2023
Eventually, it sunk in that she would have a medal around her neck. She would return from Hangzhou with two bronze, also finishing on the mixed doubles podium with Abhay Singh.
The latest of headlines for Anahat came in Chennai last week, as she became the senior national champion while still three and half months away from turning 16. Once again, though, she keeps her perspective as the eventual title came after her senior India teammate Tanvi Khanna had to retire mid-match due to an injury.
“It’s been a really great feeling. It was the second time I played the senior Nationals, the last time I lost to Joshna in the final, it was always a dream to play against her. I am glad I got the title this year but Tanvi ended up getting injured in the match and couldn’t finish the match. The tournament didn’t end the way I wanted it to, but glad I could have the title,” she says.
Anahat’s mother Tani Vadehra Singh is pleased that her daughter stays grounded. “She doesn’t worry too much about wins or losses, because I don’t think she understands yet right now. The older one gets, you tend to overthink, overanalyse, and all that. As a kid, it’s good that she takes everything at face value. Our conversations are very simple: do your schoolwork, play well, and eat properly,” says Tani.
Anahat shot into the limelight when, at 14, she played her first major senior international event at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year. “A lot of people have said it’s good that we’re bringing in a youngster, but she’s here on merit. She is that good. I’m looking forward to seeing her go further from here,” Cyrus Poncha, Secretary General at the Squash Rackets Federation of India, had told PSA last year. In a column for the governing body’s website, she caught the attention of ‘Mr Squash’ Jonah Barrington, who mentioned it was amazing to see a 14-year-old play – and win – her opening match.

“When I went to Birmingham for such a big event, winning a medal wasn’t really on my mind,” she says. “I just wanted to gain experience, what level I need to be at, and how much more work I need to put in. That was a huge turning point, and I could feel my game improve drastically after that experience. So for the Asian Games, I went in with the mentality that I *HAVE* to get two medals.”
Now she knows there is no time to rest on laurels as there are bigger dreams to chase. Squash was one of the events that was added to the Olympic Games roster for Los Angeles 2028. It was a dream come true for Anahat, and every squash player really, and the fact that she got to spend that moment in the company of her teammates returning from Hangzhou made it all the more special.
“I was going in thinking that it would be one of the biggest achievements in my career, it’s really hard to believe I have two Asian Games medals,” Anahat says. “But until a month or so ago, the Asian Games was one of the biggest tournaments where squash players could compete but now the Olympics is in the frame and every squash player will start working towards that goal.”

.@Anahat_Singh13 & @AbhaySinghk98 made India proud and clinched a 🥉 for their solid performance in the Squash Mixed Doubles category👏🇮🇳#SonySportsNetwork #AsianGames #Cheer4India #Hangzhou2022 #Squash #TeamIndia | @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/EkgPtrbqDw
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) October 5, 2023
Balancing education and sport at this stage can be tricky but Tani believes the team around her can help achieve it, but for now – without losing track of academics – the focus remains on squash. They are in it for the long haul, as long as that is what Anahat wants.
“She has to get a good education, she is good at it and intelligent. But the focus now is more on squash. She has to learn to balance as she grows up, we are all here to help her. If she wants to continue playing professionally, we will go all out to make sure she does. It’s all up to her, it is going to involve a lot of hard work and sacrifices, she has to go through that. As of now, it’s all good. The ball is in her court,” Tani says.
Anahat dabbled with both badminton and squash when she started playing sport but as her elder ser played squash, she gravitated more towards the latter. “There wasn’t one specific reason for why I chose squash over badminton. It was just much easier for my parents to travel to the same tournaments, instead of doing separate things,” she says. “I really enjoy the sport, I liked badminton as well and played both. But I realised that if I had to pick one to play professionally, I’d pick squash because I just had a lot more fun. I was winning a lot more tournaments too. At that time we hadn’t really thought about the Olympics, because I didn’t think I would be at this level and winning two medals at Asian Games, etc. It was just something I enjoyed.”
As the cliche goes, one sport’s loss is another’s gain as India have an uncut diamond in squash who seems driven to achieve big.