Anahat Singh: The Youngest Athlete Of India In Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022

Anahat Singh is a Delhi-based teen squash player who is making waves at the ongoing Commonwealth Games, 2022. The 14-year-old gained attention after winning the girl's U-11 title in January 2019 at the British Junior Open Squash followed by the girl's U-13 title at the Dutch Junior Open Squash in the same year.

Anahat won the girl's U-15 title at the Asian Junior Squash Individual Championships in June 2022. She is the top-ranked player in Asia in the girl's U-15 category as of June 2022. She was also a part of the 2021–22 PSA World Tour, by reaching the quarterfinals in 2021 of the Indian Tour in Noida.

Her Family Background

Anahat Singh was born in Delhi on March 18, 2008. Her mother Tani Vadehra Singh is an interior designer, while her father Gursharan Singh is a lawyer. The Singh family has always had a strong sports culture because both Gursharan and Tani played hockey in college. Amira Singh, the eldest sister of Anahat Singh, is an accomplished squash player, who was one of the top under-19 players in the nation before relocating to Harvard University to complete her undergraduate studies. She continues to play for the Harvard women's squash team. Squash was not Anahat's first love, though, Badminton was! After playing badminton for many years, Anahat chose to pursue squash after her love for the sport grew more.

Her Start

Anahat Singh, who takes guidance from her older sister Amira Singh and former national-level squash competitors Amjad Khan and Ashraf Hussein, quickly made a name for herself as the sport's future in India. Anahat rose quickly to the top of India's under-11 division before moving on to the under-13 division, where she won not just in India but also throughout Asia and Europe.

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Her Inspiration

Anahat, who loves and is inspired by India's top shuttler PV Sindhu, is the youngest member of the more than 200+ strong Indian delegation in Birmingham. With a victory over Jada Ross of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, she had a strong start in the women's singles squash competition. Anahat began playing badminton when she was six years old because she comes from a sporting family and her parents were both former hockey players. Squash was played back then by her older sister Amira. Anahat switched from badminton to squash when she was eight years old.

Anahat is eager to pursue a career in squash like Joshna Chinappa, her fellow player at the CWG 2022. Anahat passed the national selection tests and was included in the Indian team for Birmingham.

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Her Journey In Commonwealth Games 2022

Incredible to see this happening in our @birminghamcg22 squash court!
Fourteen-year-old Anahat Singh from India, won her debut #squash match of @birminghamcg22#B2022pic.twitter.com/EJ7FalUAts

— Uni of Birmingham (@unibirmingham) July 30, 2022

Since her Commonwealth debut, Anahat has been the talk of the Indian sporting community. Jada Ross of St. Vincent and the Grenadines were defeated by her in the Round 64 of the women's singles squash competition 3-0. With victories of 11-5, 11-2, and 11-0, Anahat quickly became popular after her opponent gave her a heartfelt hug. She gave it her all in the following round, losing to Emily Whitlock, who is ranked 19 in the world, 7-11, 7-11, 11-4, and 6-11, and failing to advance to Round 16.

This powerhouse athlete has established herself as the future of Indian squash despite a painful setback. Anahat has also qualified for the 2022 World Juniors Squash Championships, which will commence on August 9 in Nancy, France, and will be looking forward to some winning ways.

Anahat has so far won nine international titles, two national championships, and 46 national circuit titles. She is the only Indian girl to have won the British Junior Open and the US Junior Open in this category.

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