Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru)

A grade X student of Delhi’s upscale The British School, Anahat Singh is set to make an impact in the international squash racquets circuit. In November, this 15-year-old was crowned women’s national squash champion at the HCL 79th National Squash Championship staged in Chennai.

Earlier in October, Anahat bagged two bronze medals in the women’s and mixed doubles events at the 19th Asian Games staged in Hangzhou (China); in August, she won the Girls Under-17 title at the Asian Junior Squash Individual Championships 2023 in Dalian (China) six months after winning the Girls Under-15 title at the British Junior Open Squash tournament in Birmingham (UK) in January.

Born into a family of sports aficionados — father Gursharan Singh, a practicing lawyer, and entrepreneur mother Tani Vadehra, are former hockey players and elder sister Amira is a member of Harvard University’s women’s squash squad — Anahat has set herself ambitious targets. “I love this game which combines intellect with extreme physical fitness and I’m grateful to my mentor-father, coaches, senior players who sharpened my training in Delhi,” says this articulate teenager.

Anahat’s interest in squash was kindled at age eight while witnessing her sister Amira play at New Delhi’s Siri Fort Sports Complex. Later, training under former national squash champion Amjad Khan, Anahat started competing and winning tournaments. In 2019, she won the Girls Under-11 title at the British Junior Open Squash championship in Birmingham followed by Girls Under-13 titles at the Dutch and European Junior Open Squash championships staged in Amsterdam and Cologne the same year.

Although her training routine was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Anahat returned to the court with a vengeance and bagged the US Open 2021 junior (under-15) squash title in Philadelphia (USA). The following year, she went on to win the Girls Under-15 title at the Asian Junior Squash Individual Championship in Pattaya (Thailand).

Unsurprisingly, this teenage champion has ambitious plans for the future. “My goal is nothing less than to become world champion. And now that squash has been included as an official sport in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, I will intensify my training over the next four years to win India’s first ever squash racquets gold medal,” says this gritty teen with a winning habit.

Wind in your sails!