Anahat Singh is a phenomenon poised to take the world by storm. At just 14, she became the youngest player to represent India at the Commonwealth Games, in Birmingham (2022), where she also pulled off a win in her debut major senior competition. At 15, she had secured two medals at the Asian Games in Hangzhou (2023) and briefly held the record of being the youngest Indian to achieve such a feat. At 16, she broke into the Top 100 on the back of nine Professional Squash Association tour titles in 10 appearances in one year – the first woman to do so in a single year since legendary Nicol David in 2010. Now at 17, she has become the youngest Indian to qualify for the World Championships, to be held in Chicago from May 9 to 17.
A Class XI student at a private school in Delhi, Anahat hails from a family of sportspersons. Both her parents played hockey in their youth, while her elder sister, Amira, was the country’s top-rated Under-19 player before choosing academics at Harvard University over a career in squash.
Touted as India’s brightest medal prospect at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles – where squash is set to make its debut – Anahat spoke to ET SPORT about her expectations from the World Championships, navigating fame, idols, Olympic dream, balancing studies with sport and more. Excerpts
How significant is the World Championships qualification for you?
The World Championships is the biggest tournament on the PSA circuit [where] all the top players play. It's something that I've grown up watching since I've started playing squash and my dream is to become world champion one day. If, by some miracle, it happens this time then that's different. But I'm just going to get as much knowledge and experience as I possibly can. [I will try to] play my best and see where I am and where my level is; see where I can improve to reach the level of the top players as fast as I can.
What are your expectations going into the World Championships?
I would be happy if I played well, put on some performances and made a few upsets as well. Like my first match is against a girl who is, I think, around 25 in the world. So, she's pretty good and if I'm able to win that match, I would be pretty happy. My coach [former world No. 1 Grégory Gaultier] has been saying my draw has been pretty good. Like my first match is not against any of the top five players in the world. So according to him, if I'm able to play well, play the way he expects me to, I can definitely pull off a few upsets and put on a performance as well.
How do you feel about your growing popularity?
At some point it does get a bit overwhelming because it’s happened really fast over a short period of time. But I'm obviously happy about it as well and I try not to think about it too much because right now I'm No. 1 in India but there's still so much left for me to achieve. If I keep thinking about stuff like this and feel happy about it, then I [might] forget that there's still so much for me to work towards. So as soon as I win a tournament or do something that's good, I just try to enjoy it and forget it as soon as I can so that I move on to what I'm working towards next.
Did you have any idols growing up? What do you like about them?
My seniors like Dipika [Pallikal], Joshna [Chinappa], Saurav [Ghosal]. I've grown up watching them play since I've started playing squash. I've gone for a few tournaments where I've seen them at the top of their game. I have been travelling with them for the past few years for all the tournaments. I've learned so much [from them]. There wouldn't be anything specific like that, but just seeing how they function before their matches, how they are during and after and the whole thought process behind it, I think that's something that not a lot of people have seen about them. I'm grateful that I was able to talk and learn from them.
Who are the people you depend on for advice in professional life?
Obviously, my coaches Gaultier, Stéphane [Galifi], former world No. 40] and Ghosal [former world No. 10]. If there is anything related to squash, if I have any issues, I go to them first thing because they're the ones who know the best. They've been in the game for so long. They know exactly how I'm feeling, if I'm feeling stressed before a match. They've been in the same position as I have, and a lot higher up in the level as well. So, they know exactly what to say that's going to help me perform my best. Before the World Championships qualifiers, I was in Prague and I wasn’t training too well. I felt like I wasn’t playing at my best. I told my coach that I'm a bit worried going into the tournament and he just said all the right things to make sure I performed at my best. And I ended up doing that.
What have been the key learnings from your interactions with Sourav, Dipika and Joshna?
I used to think that going into the court and training for one or two hours were the most important things in squash. But there was a lot more behind it as well, like the nutrition, the fitness that they were putting in. And the stuff outside the court was like 80% of the main part of the game, rather than what they were doing inside the court. So, that's something that changed completely because I used to just let all this go. I used to not be interested in all of this and be very casual about it. I still don't really like it much, I get very bored doing all of it, but I'm trying to be as interested as I possibly can because it's beneficial for me. If I want to do well, I need to do things I don't like at some point.
You could be one of the first squash players from India to play in the Olympics because the earlier generation didn't even have that option. How does that feel?
Now that I'm thinking about it, it feels surreal. When I started playing squash, the Olympics weren't in the picture at all. When you used to ask someone what your main aim was, they used to say winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games or the Asian Games. But now that the Olympics are in the picture, the answer is completely different. The fact that I [might] get to do it for India in 2028 is something that I'm really looking forward to. It's every athlete’s dream to be at the Olympics and represent their country. [That’s] something I would love to do.
What according to you are your strengths?
Probably the fact that I'm very competitive and that whenever I go in for a match. Even if it's against the world No. 1, I go in with the thought that I could win, and I am going to do anything I possibly can because anything is possible at the end of the day and you never know what's going on in the opponent’s head. So, anything is possible and I try to play my best every time I get on to court.
What's your daily routine? If you could give us a brief idea.
If I'm in Delhi, then I try to train before I go to school, so that’s like 6am to 7am. But sometimes I get lazy so that doesn't happen. Then I am at the school till around 3pm. If I've not played in the morning, then I'll train from 3 to 4 and then I'll train from 7 to 8, but otherwise I'll just train from 7 to 8. So that’s twice a day for one or one-and-a-half hours each.
Given the demand of professional sport, how difficult is it to manage your studies with it?
It's definitely extremely hard. Firstly, I am barely ever in Delhi, so I miss out on a lot of school and I'm always lagging behind. But my school is extremely supportive. If I ever need anything, if I have any questions, they let me have calls with my teachers online or just meet them after school if I have the time and they've moved around tests and exams for me as well. Most schools don't even allow athletes to travel if they ever need to, but my school lets me travel whenever I want to. So, it wouldn't be possible if they weren’t this supportive.
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Touted as India’s brightest medal prospect at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles – where squash is set to make its debut – Anahat spoke to ET SPORT about her expectations from the World Championships, navigating fame, idols, Olympic dream, balancing studies with sport and more. Excerpts
How significant is the World Championships qualification for you?
The World Championships is the biggest tournament on the PSA circuit [where] all the top players play. It's something that I've grown up watching since I've started playing squash and my dream is to become world champion one day. If, by some miracle, it happens this time then that's different. But I'm just going to get as much knowledge and experience as I possibly can. [I will try to] play my best and see where I am and where my level is; see where I can improve to reach the level of the top players as fast as I can.
What are your expectations going into the World Championships?
I would be happy if I played well, put on some performances and made a few upsets as well. Like my first match is against a girl who is, I think, around 25 in the world. So, she's pretty good and if I'm able to win that match, I would be pretty happy. My coach [former world No. 1 Grégory Gaultier] has been saying my draw has been pretty good. Like my first match is not against any of the top five players in the world. So according to him, if I'm able to play well, play the way he expects me to, I can definitely pull off a few upsets and put on a performance as well.
How do you feel about your growing popularity?
At some point it does get a bit overwhelming because it’s happened really fast over a short period of time. But I'm obviously happy about it as well and I try not to think about it too much because right now I'm No. 1 in India but there's still so much left for me to achieve. If I keep thinking about stuff like this and feel happy about it, then I [might] forget that there's still so much for me to work towards. So as soon as I win a tournament or do something that's good, I just try to enjoy it and forget it as soon as I can so that I move on to what I'm working towards next.
Did you have any idols growing up? What do you like about them?
My seniors like Dipika [Pallikal], Joshna [Chinappa], Saurav [Ghosal]. I've grown up watching them play since I've started playing squash. I've gone for a few tournaments where I've seen them at the top of their game. I have been travelling with them for the past few years for all the tournaments. I've learned so much [from them]. There wouldn't be anything specific like that, but just seeing how they function before their matches, how they are during and after and the whole thought process behind it, I think that's something that not a lot of people have seen about them. I'm grateful that I was able to talk and learn from them.
Who are the people you depend on for advice in professional life?
Obviously, my coaches Gaultier, Stéphane [Galifi], former world No. 40] and Ghosal [former world No. 10]. If there is anything related to squash, if I have any issues, I go to them first thing because they're the ones who know the best. They've been in the game for so long. They know exactly how I'm feeling, if I'm feeling stressed before a match. They've been in the same position as I have, and a lot higher up in the level as well. So, they know exactly what to say that's going to help me perform my best. Before the World Championships qualifiers, I was in Prague and I wasn’t training too well. I felt like I wasn’t playing at my best. I told my coach that I'm a bit worried going into the tournament and he just said all the right things to make sure I performed at my best. And I ended up doing that.
What have been the key learnings from your interactions with Sourav, Dipika and Joshna?
I used to think that going into the court and training for one or two hours were the most important things in squash. But there was a lot more behind it as well, like the nutrition, the fitness that they were putting in. And the stuff outside the court was like 80% of the main part of the game, rather than what they were doing inside the court. So, that's something that changed completely because I used to just let all this go. I used to not be interested in all of this and be very casual about it. I still don't really like it much, I get very bored doing all of it, but I'm trying to be as interested as I possibly can because it's beneficial for me. If I want to do well, I need to do things I don't like at some point.
You could be one of the first squash players from India to play in the Olympics because the earlier generation didn't even have that option. How does that feel?
Now that I'm thinking about it, it feels surreal. When I started playing squash, the Olympics weren't in the picture at all. When you used to ask someone what your main aim was, they used to say winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games or the Asian Games. But now that the Olympics are in the picture, the answer is completely different. The fact that I [might] get to do it for India in 2028 is something that I'm really looking forward to. It's every athlete’s dream to be at the Olympics and represent their country. [That’s] something I would love to do.
What according to you are your strengths?
Probably the fact that I'm very competitive and that whenever I go in for a match. Even if it's against the world No. 1, I go in with the thought that I could win, and I am going to do anything I possibly can because anything is possible at the end of the day and you never know what's going on in the opponent’s head. So, anything is possible and I try to play my best every time I get on to court.
What's your daily routine? If you could give us a brief idea.
If I'm in Delhi, then I try to train before I go to school, so that’s like 6am to 7am. But sometimes I get lazy so that doesn't happen. Then I am at the school till around 3pm. If I've not played in the morning, then I'll train from 3 to 4 and then I'll train from 7 to 8, but otherwise I'll just train from 7 to 8. So that’s twice a day for one or one-and-a-half hours each.
Given the demand of professional sport, how difficult is it to manage your studies with it?
It's definitely extremely hard. Firstly, I am barely ever in Delhi, so I miss out on a lot of school and I'm always lagging behind. But my school is extremely supportive. If I ever need anything, if I have any questions, they let me have calls with my teachers online or just meet them after school if I have the time and they've moved around tests and exams for me as well. Most schools don't even allow athletes to travel if they ever need to, but my school lets me travel whenever I want to. So, it wouldn't be possible if they weren’t this supportive.
