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

Anahat Singh, the 18-year-old squash sensation, aims for Olympic gold and a top-10 world ranking in her sport.

Anahat Singh set the squash stage on fire in Washington last month. Competing at the Squash on Fire Open, the teenager produced a simmering exhibition of skill and composure against some 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 achieve the feat in recent times.

What stood out was not only the results but also her approach — especially in the final against Georgina Kennedy. An explosive player with some of the quickest movements on court, Kennedy is a formidable presence on the Tour. Yet, Anahat matched her pace with poise, playing the long rallies with calmness and not rushing to finish points. To defeat the top-seeded 28-year-old from England in straight games (12-10, 11-5, 11-7) was a statement in no uncertain terms.

At 18, Anahat, who clinched the JSW Indian Open women’s title in Mumbai last week, is aware that sterner tests lie ahead. Among them is the long road to the 2028 Summer Olympics, where squash will make its debut. She is determined to reach that stage.

In this interview, she speaks about her goals for the World Junior Squash Championships and British Open later this year, not being able to play the senior World Championships, and her burning desire to win the women’s singles gold medal at the Asian Games and take a decisive step towards Los Angeles 2028. Excerpts:

Indian teenage squash prodigy Anahat Singh's meteoric rise in the last few years has been phenomenal, to say the least.Ranked World No. 20, Anahat is now eager to seal her place for the 2028 LA Olympics by winning the women's singles gold at the 2026 Asian Games, to be held in… pic.twitter.com/CKIN3gF4zG

Yeah, I was, of course, really, really happy going into the tournament. No one really expected me to win. Even now, if I think about it, it’s like, I still can’t believe it happened. And yeah, it’s just something that was unexpected. And I didn’t really think about my rankings because I didn’t calculate it for the fact that I was going to win the tournament. So I thought that I’d only go a few places up and maybe go to like World Ranking 23 or 24. When I woke up and I saw posts [on social media] saying that I was in the top-20, I was really happy.