Anahat Singh
Indian squash player (born 2008)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anahat Singh (born 13 March 2008) is an Indian squash player. She has won two bronze medals at the 2022 Asian Games, and gold medals at the World Cup, Asian Championships, World Junior Championships and the Asian Junior Championships.[1]
India| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 March 2008 New Delhi, India |
| Education | The British School, New Delhi |
| Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) |
| Sport | |
| Country | India |
| Handedness | Right-handed |
Turned pro | 2023 |
| Coached by | |
| Racquet used | Dunlop |
| Women's singles | |
| Highest ranking | 18 (February 2026) |
| Current ranking | 20 (September 2026) |
| Title | 16 |
| Tour final | 18 |
| PSA Profile | |
Medal record | |
Early life
Singh was born in New Delhi on 13 March 2008 to Tani Vadehra and Gursharan Singh. While her mother is an interior designer, her father is a lawyer. Both her parents used to play field hockey.[2][3] Her uncle used to play tennis.[4] Inspired by P. V. Sindhu, a five year old Singh began playing badminton.[5] Singh watched her and dreamt of victory at the Olympics.[6]
She used to accompany her sister Amira who played squash.[7] After playing a few squash tournaments where she performed well, she grew fond of it and switched to the sport.[8]
Career
Early beginnings (2019–2022)
Singh first rose to prominence after winning the U11 title at the British Junior Open in 2019.[9] This was followed by the European Junior Open, the Dutch Junior Open and the Scottish Junior Open titles the same year.[10] In 2021, she won the US Junior Open title by defeating Jayda Marei from Egypt. The next year, she won the German Junior Open, the Dutch Junior Open and the U15 title at the Asian Junior Championships.[11] At the age of 14, she became the youngest to represent India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[12]
Asian Junior Champion, Asian Games medals (2023)
Singh started off her year by winning the 2023 edition of the British Junior Open in the U15 category after beating Egypt's Sohaila Hazem.[13] In August, she won the U17 title at the Asian Junior Championships held in Dalian, China.[14] She then won two bronze at the 2022 Asian Games in both the mixed doubles category with Abhay Singh and in the women's team event.[15] Singh became the senior national champion in November after Tanvi Khanna retired in the finals due to an injury.[16] She is the youngest national champion and the youngest Indian to win a medal at the Asian Games.[17] Singh ended the year on a high by winning the U19 title at the Scottish Junior Open by defeating home player Robyn McAlpine 11-6, 11-1, 11-5.[18]
9 tour titles, into top 90 (2024)
In January, Singh finished as a runner-up in Girls U17 category at the British Junior Open after a loss to Nadien Elhammamy.[19] In the same month, she won her first PSA Tour title at the JSW Willingdon LMS Tournament after defeating Japan's Erisa Sano Herring 11-4, 11-3, 11-7.[20] This was followed by a win at the Hamdard Squashters Northern Slam in April where she defeated Korean Hwayeong Eum 11-6, 11-4, 11-5.[21] Her third title came in June at the HCL Squash Tour Chennai on defeating compatriot Rathika Seelan 11-5, 11-3, 11-3.[22] During the final of the Dynam Cup SQ-Cube Open, she gave her opponent Ruqayya Salem from Egypt a walkover due an injury.[23] Singh proceeded to win the PSA Challenge 3 against Sri Lankan Chanithma Sinaly scoring 11-0, 11-1, 11-4 in the final.[24]
Her fifth title was HCL Squash Tour Kolkata where she defeated Filipino Jemyca Aribado 11-5, 11-3, 11-7. Then, she won Costa North Coast Open by defeating Akari Midorikawa from Japan by 11-6, 11-6, 11-7. She won the NSW Open against Hong Kong's Helen Tang with a score of 8-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-4.[25] The Sunil Verma Memorial saw her defeating fellow Indian Shameena Riaz 11-4, 11-3, 11-1. Singh's last title of the year was the Western India Slam where she defeated India's No. 1 and her higher ranked fellow Akanksha Salunkhe 11-8, 11-8, 11-8. She won nine tour titles in 2024, becoming the first woman to do so in a year since Nicol David back in 2010.[26] She had 38 wins out of 40 matches, 31 of them with a dominant 3–0 scoreline. She was also featured in PSA Squash Tour's list of players to watch out for.[27] Singh also broke into the top 100 and jumped 51 total spots to reach her highest world ranking of 82.[28]
World Cup victory, Asian Champion, into top 30 (2025)
Singh started off the year by winning British Junior Open again at the 2025 edition.[29] She defeated Egyptian Malika Elkaraksy with a score of 4-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5, 11-3. This was her third title at the tournament.[30] At the 2025 Asian Junior Team Championships, she won every match without losing a single set.[31] Since her fellow members lost their matches, the team settled for a bronze.[32]
In March, she won the SRFI Indian Tour 11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5 against compatriot Akanksha Salunkhe in the final.[33] In the same month, she won the Indian Open with a dominant 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 win against Helen Tang of Hong Kong.[34][35] Winning back-to-back challenger 15 titles placed her at 62 in world rankings, a career high for her.[36] During the WSC Asia qualifier, she defeated Hong Kong's Toby Tse 11-4, 9-11, 11-2, 11-8 to qualify for her first World Squash Championships.[37] She is the youngest Indian to contest the WSC.[38]
During the first round of the 2025 WSC, she caused an upset by defeating world number 28, Marina Stefanoni of the United States, by 10-12, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 11-6.[39] The second round was against world number 15 Fayrouz Aboelkheir of Egypt. She lost the match but skilfully managed to snag a set from her.[40]
At the British Open qualifiers, Singh defeated higher ranked Marie Stephan of France 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 to enter the main draw. She is the youngest in the draw since Nour El Sherbini in 2012.[41] The first round saw her win over Lisa Aitken of Scotland 11-3, 6-11, 11-8, 11-3. Next round was against WR 9 Sivasangari Subramaniam of Malaysia. She lost 10-12, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11 but snagged a set from her.[42]
Singh won her first end of the season PSA Awards after being voted Young Player of the Year and Challenger Player of the Year.[43] At the 2025 Asian Doubles Championships, she struck gold in both the women's and mixed doubles events with her partners Joshna Chinappa and Abhay Singh respectively.[44] She next won the Asian Junior Championship in the under 19 category, having previously won the under 15 and 17 titles as well.[45]
Singh was seeded second at the 2025 World Junior Championships.[46] She became the first Indian woman to reach the semi-finals of the event in 15 years.[47] She clinched the bronze after losing the semi-finals to Nadien Elhammamy 11-6, 14-12, 12-10.[48] She was featured in PSA's list of women to watch out for.[49] She cruised into the final of the 2025 Bega Open, but an ankle injury led to her not being able to perform her best.[50] This led to a 11-9, 5-11, 8-11, 4-10 loss after having to retire, making Singh the runners up of her very first copper world tour event.[51]
At the Canadian Open, her first silver tour event, she defeated WR 20 Mélissa Alves to reach the quarterfinals.[52] She then stunned WR 7 Tinne Gilis to enter the semi-finals.[53] During the China Open, she defeated Menna Hamed of Egypt by 11-6, 11-8, 11-3.[54] At the SRFI Indian Open, she defeated veteran compatriot Joshna Chinappa 11-8, 11-13, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9 to win the home title.[55] This also boosted her to WR 29, breaking into top 30. Singh was felicitated with the Certificate of Excellence and included in the World Book of Records for her squash achievements.[56]
At the HCL Squash Tour Chennai, she won her 14th title, defeating Chinappa with a scoreline of 11-8, 11-13, 11-13, 11-6, 11-8.[57] Singh ended the year by being a part of the team that won the 2025 World Cup, bringing home the first SWC title for India.[58]
Breaking into top 20, World Junior Champion (2026)
She started off 2026, by finishing as the runner-up at the British Junior Open. The top seeded Singh went down 3-1 (9-11, 11-7, 3-11, 9-11) in the final to Lauren Baltayan.[59] She then made it to round two of the Tournament of Champions.[60] Singh proceeded to win the Squash on Fire Open, her first bronze-level title.[61] She then made it to round two of the Windy City Open and defended her Indian Open title, winning it back to back.[62] Her victories led to her breakthrough into the world top 20, making her the youngest Asian to do so.[63] This broke Nicol David's previous record.[64] She also became the World Junior No 1.[65]
In July, Singh became the country's first World Junior champion after defeating Egypt's Ruqayya Salem at the 2026 World Junior Championships. As the top seed she beat second seed Salem 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-9), becoming the first non-Egyptian player to win the championships since Amanda Sobhy in 2010.[66] She also participated in the 2026 World Junior Team Championships, where the women's team bowed out of medal contention after losing to the USA 2-1 in the quarter-finals.[67]
At the 2026 London Squash Classic, a PSA Gold event, Singh defeated Mariam Metwally in the first round before upsetting world No. 11 Nele Gilis in the second round. Her run ended in the quarter-finals, where she lost 4-11, 4-11 to world No. 5 Sivasangari Subramaniam.[68]
Coaching record
At the start of her career, Singh was coached by Amjad Khan and Ashraf Hussain, followed by Ritwick Bhattacharya.[69] Since a couple of years, she is coached by both Stéphane Galifi and Grégory Gaultier.[70] Indian squash icon Saurav Ghosal is her mentor and helps her decide which tournaments to play.[71] He joined her team consisting of Galifi and Gaultier in 2024.[72]
| Duration | Coach | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Amjad Khan |
[73] |
| 2019 | Ashraf Hussain |
[74] |
| 2019–2022 | Ritwick Bhattacharya |
[75] |
| 2020 | Dharmender Wenwal |
[76] |
| 2023–present |  Stéphane Galifi |
[77] |
| 2023–present |  Grégory Gaultier |
[78] |
| 2024–present | Saurav Ghosal |
[79] |
Tournaments
Senior
| Year | Tournament | Venue | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Asian Games |  Hangzhou |
Team | 3rd | [80] |
| 2022 | Asian Games | Hangzhou |
Mixed Doubles | 3rd | [81] |
| 2022 | Asian Championships |  Cheongju |
Team | 3rd | |
| 2023 | Asian Championships | Hangzhou |
Mixed Doubles | 3rd | |
| 2024 | World Championships |  Hong Kong Island |
Team | 7th | |
| 2025 | World Championships |  Chicago |
Singles | R32 | [82] |
| 2025 | Asian Championships |  Kuala Lumpur |
Doubles | 1st | [83] |
| 2025 | Asian Championships | Kuala Lumpur |
Mixed Doubles | 1st | [84] |
| 2025 | World Cup | Chennai |
Mixed Team | 1st | [58] |
Junior
| Year | Tournament | Venue | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Asian Championships |  Macau |
Singles | 3rd | |
| 2022 | Asian Championships |  Na Chom Thian |
Singles | 1st | [85] |
| 2022 | World Championships | Maxéville |
Singles | QF | |
| 2023 | Asian Championships | Chennai |
Team | 3rd | |
| 2023 | World Championships |  Melbourne |
Singles | QF | |
| 2023 | World Championships | Melbourne |
Team | 8th | |
| 2023 | Asian Championships | Dalian |
Singles | 1st | [86] |
| 2024 | World Championships | Houston |
Singles | QF | [87] |
| 2024 | World Championships | Houston |
Team | 7th | |
| 2025 | Asian Championships | Tsim Sha Tsui |
Team | 3rd | [88] |
| 2025 | Asian Championships | Gimcheon |
Singles | 1st | [89] |
| 2025 | World Championships |  Cairo |
Singles | 3rd | [90] |
| 2025 | World Championships | Cairo |
Team | 6th | |
| 2026 | World Championships |  Niagara |
Singles | 1st | [66] |
| 2026 | World Championships | Niagara |
Team | QF | [67] |
World Tour
Senior
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result | Score | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | JSW Willingdon LMS |  Erisa Sano Herring |
Win | 3–0 (11–4, 11–3, 11–7) | [91] |
| Hamdard Squashters Northern Slam | Hwayeong Eum |
Win | 3–0 (11–6, 11–4, 11–5) | [92] | |
| HCL Squash Tour Chennai | Rathika Seelan |
Win | 3–0 (11–5, 11–3, 11–3) | [93] | |
| Dynam Cup SQ-Cube Open | Ruqayya Salem |
W/O | N/A | [94] | |
| Reliance PSA Challenge 3 |  Chanithma Sinaly |
Win | 3–0 (11–0, 11–1, 11–4) | [95] | |
| HCL Squash Tour Kolkata |  Jemyca Aribado |
Win | 3–0 (11–5, 11–3, 11–7) | [96] | |
| Costa North Coast Open | Akari Midorikawa |
Win | 3–0 (11–6, 11–6, 11–7) | [97] | |
| NSW Open | Helen Tang |
Win | 3–1 (8–11, 11–6, 11–3, 11–4) | [98] | |
| Sunil Verma Memorial | Shameena Riaz |
Win | 3–0 (11–4, 11–3, 11–1) | [99] | |
| Western India Slam | Akanksha Salunkhe |
Win | 3–0 (11–8, 11–8, 11–8) | [100] | |
| 2025 | SRFI Indian Tour | Akanksha Salunkhe |
Win | 3–1 (11–6, 8–11, 11–8, 11–5) | [101] |
| JSW Indian Open | Helen Tang |
Win | 3–0 (11–9, 11–5, 11–8) | [102] | |
| NSW Bega Open | Habiba Hani |
Loss | 1–3 (11–9, 5–11, 8–11, 4–10) | [103] | |
| SRFI Indian Open | Joshna Chinappa |
Win | 3–2 (11–8, 11–13, 11–9, 6–11, 11–9) | [104] | |
| HCL Squash Tour Chennai | Joshna Chinappa |
Win | 3–2 (11–8, 11–13, 11–13, 11–6, 11–8 | [105] | |
| 2026 | Squash on Fire Open |  Georgina Kennedy |
Win | 3–0 (12–10, 11–5, 11–7) | [106] |
| JSW Indian Open | Hana Moataz |
Win | 3–1 (11–5, 11–6, 9–11, 11–6) | [107] |
Junior
| Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result | Score | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | British Junior Open | Whitney Wilson |
Win | 3–1 (13–11, 11–9, 7–11, 11–9) | [108] |
| European Junior Open | Avery Park |
Win | 3–0 (11–7, 11–3, 11–4) | [109] | |
| Dutch Junior Open | Lauren Baltayan |
Win | 3–2 (11–6, 11–7, 9–11, 7–11, 11–8) | [110] | |
| Scottish Junior Open | Keertty Haridharan |
Win | 3–0 (11–1, 11–1, 11–1) | [111] | |
| 2020 | British Junior Open | Amina Orfi |
Loss | 0–3 (11–0, 11–1, 11–4) | [112] |
| 2021 | US Junior Open | Jayda Marei |
Win | 3–1 (11–9 11–5 8–11 11–5) | [113] |
| 2022 | German Junior Open | Malak Samir |
Win | 3–0 (11–1, 11–4, 11–5) | [114] |
| Dutch Junior Open | Malak Samir |
Win | 3–0 (11–4 11–7 11–2) | [115] | |
| 2023 | British Junior Open | Sohaila Hazem |
Win | 3–1 (11–8, 8–11, 11–7, 11–5) | [116] |
| Scottish Junior Open |  Robyn McAlpine |
Win | 3–0 (11–6, 11–1, 11–5) | [117] | |
| 2024 | British Junior Open | Nadien Elhammamy |
Loss | 2–3 (7–11, 13–11, 12–10, 5–11, 11–9) | [118] |
| 2025 | British Junior Open | Malika Elkaraksy |
Win | 3–2 (4–11, 11–9, 6–11, 11–5, 11–3) | [119] |
| 2026 | British Junior Open | Lauren Baltayan |
Loss | 1–3 (9–11, 11–7, 3–11, 9–11) | [59] |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Times of India Sports Awards | Special Recognition in Squash | Won | [120] |
| Emerging Sportsperson of the Year | Nominated | [121] | ||
| 2024 | PSA Awards | Challenger Player of January | Won | |
| Challenger Player of August | Won | [122] | ||
| Indian Sports Honours | Sportswoman of the Year | Nominated | ||
| 2025 | Times of India Sports Awards | Squash Player of the Year Female | Won | [123] |
| PSA Awards | Challenger Player of January | Won | [124] | |
| ASF Awards | Outstanding Performance Junior Women | Won | [125] | |
| PSA Awards | Young Player of the Year | Won | [126] | |
| Challenger Player of the Year | Won | [127] | ||
| ASF Awards | Girls' Player of the Year | Won | [128] | |
| 2026 | PSA Awards | Player of the Month January | Won | [129] |