‘I can start my senior career with confidence’: Anahat Singh on Asian Games and what’s next

Anahat Singh’s first reaction after winning the World Junior Squash Championship was not about what the title could do to her profile.It was her last year on the junior circuit and after years of playing squash she finally got the title she wanted before moving fully into the senior competition.“I think it’s a good way to end my junior career I would say because it’s also my last year playing juniors. I’ll be 19 before I can play any other junior competition, so I think it’s just a good way to go,” Anahat told Timesofindia.com.“I’ve been playing squash for 10 years and it’s good to end it and start my senior career so I can start it with confidence and in a good way too.”The timing is crucial as the Asian Games are already here. Anahat is the third seed in the Aichi-Nagoya first-round women’s singles draw. World No. 6 Satomi Watanabe is the second seed; Defending champion Sivasangari Subramaniam is the top seed.And singles gold also has Olympic implications. The winner of the women’s singles will earn a quota place for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, where squash will make its Olympic debut.Anahat already has the experience of playing in the Asian Games once. In Hangzhou three years ago, she won bronze in the women’s team competition and another bronze in the mixed doubles. He is in the singles draw this time and understands the importance of continental action.

Next up will be the Asian Games

“The Asian Games is much more important. And it’s also a key point in my career for me to get to LA 2028. And I think I’m just working harder on it and focusing on one thing at a time and not focusing on what’s going to be in two years and taking it one step at a time.” she said.Ever since she started playing squash, her parents have been telling her the same thing.“I think, I think that’s one thing that my parents have always taught me since I started playing squash is that once the event is over, OK, you enjoy it for a few more days. And once it’s done, you focus on the next event.”The junior title also changed the expectations around her.“Obviously that (expectation) would definitely change it, but I still think I have a lot to achieve.“It’s still just the junior stage, I still have to go to the seniors and I think this event is just something to give me more confidence going into the seniors, knowing that, you know, as I mentioned, I’m finishing the juniors very well and I can start my new chapter really well and, you know, continue to do well and hopefully be a world champion and not only in the senior stage.”There was a lot to build on before the Junior World Championships. Hong Kong last December was one of those moments.“I went to a tournament in Hong Kong, one of my first senior tournaments, and I played a girl from Belgium who was ranked in the top 20, and I was 3-1 against her. I think that was one of the moments when I realized that I had one of the best matches of my career so far and I had so much fun when I was on the court, and that’s something I can imagine for even longer and maybe for the next 10 flight.”“So I think that match was something that really turned my mentality around to where I was, I really need to push and I can, you know, I really want to play more events like that. I want to play against more top players and I think I’m capable of, you know, playing good matches like this and even maybe beating some of them.”“I think it happened last December and I think I’ve come a long way since then.

The people behind the player

The move to senior squash brought Anahat into a different kind of training environment, with Gregory Gaultier and Saurav Ghosal around her.Gaultier was world number one and world champion; Ghosal has reached the top 10 and is a pioneer when it comes to squash in India. Both have spent years dealing with situations Anahat is now starting to encounter on the senior circuit.“I think just being around them and being in that environment, they were both at the top of their game. Greg was world No. 1, world champion and Saurav was top 10 in the world. So they’ve both experienced a lot more in their careers than I have.”“And I think just having them experience all of that is something that helps me going forward because, you know, I’m ready for it,” she said.The difference is also reflected in her results against senior women.“I would say mainly what I learned playing with the seniors. Like I mentioned before, I’d be maybe 3-1 or something like that against the older players in the top 10 and top 20. But you know, just being able to play against them and win those games is something I learned, especially from Greg and Saurav, because they knew you played a huge part in it, the mental part you play in it, the mental part.” and even the physical part.”The physical side is now one of her priorities.“Yeah I would say the physical aspect of me no, I’m still only 18 and my parents always said stay away from the gym as much as you can because you’re still young.“So you have a lot of time to work and go to the gym. And I mean, yeah, I’ve realized now that I’m going to seniors as well, it’s very, very important for me to, you know, go and improve the physical side, the conditioning part.”She’s been working on it for the past year, though travel makes maintenance difficult.“I started working on it in the last year, but it’s really hard to keep it up when I’m traveling a lot.A recent visit to the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center gave her a clearer idea of ​​what needs to be worked on.“I mean, it was a very new experience for me. I had to do so many different tests. And like I said, I have to work on my physical aspect a little bit more.”“So I think the testing itself helps me see, you know, the details of what I really need to work on. And it’s not just an overview of everything. I can see exactly what I need to work on and what I need to do.”

PV Sindhu, her sister and family behind her

The changes were not limited to training. Anahat watched the athletes around her and learned from the people she watched long before she started playing squash at this level.PV Sindhu was one of them. While training at Delhi’s Siri Fort, Anahat remembers watching Sindhu play there from the age of about five.“I think one of my earliest memories of sports and badminton is of her and watching her matches.Since then, she has seen Sindhu at the Commonwealth Games Village and the Asian Games Village.“So I think I’ve just seen her so early and I’ve also seen her a few times, you know, at the Commonwealth Games Village and the Asian Games Village and just learning and seeing what she’s like off the court and, you know, I think she’s an inspiration to so many people.”“She has achieved so many great things for Indian sports and, you know, she is someone who has inspired me in many ways and I hope I can take some of the things she has done for the country and try to somehow reach the same level as her in squash.”There was also someone closer to home. Anahat’s older sister played squash, so the sport was already part of the family when Anahat started playing.Her parents then took over much of what came with this career – the training, travel and everything around tournaments that Anahat didn’t have to take care of herself.“I wouldn’t be where I am without my parents. They did everything for me to get me on stage. I’m still only 18. So everything that goes on behind the scenes in terms of coaching, traveling has nothing to do with me. It’s all done by them.”“They travel with me to all my events. They’re there at some of my practices. They watch me play.” So I think that kind of support is what got me to this level and I wouldn’t be, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for them.”

History of India, Anahat opportunity for singles

India’s squash record at the Asian Games has been built mainly through team events and a handful of individual medal runs.The country has won 18 squash medals at the Games so far – three gold, four silver and 11 bronze. Five of them came in Hangzhou, including two golds. Joshna Chinappa, competing in her seventh Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, has five medals from the Games, including an individual bronze in the Jakarta-Palembang women’s singles in 2018.For Anahat, the coming years will bring more tournaments, bigger opponents and potentially more medals. But her own definition of how the years will go is a little different.“For me, I would say if I’m happy with how I’m playing and what I’m producing, I think it would be successful for me, whether it’s winning 100 medals or winning one very important medal.“And if I’m happy with what I’ve done, and if I’m happy with what I’ve done for myself, for my family, for my coaches, my country, and if I’ve done enough for them, I think that would be a success. And if it’s through medals, then yes, great.”“But if it’s also because of what you’ve achieved and what you’ve worked on and how much you’ve improved over the last few years, that’s also considered the same.”For now, Anahat is sticking to the method she described herself.“…to focus on one thing at a time and not focus on what’s in two years and just take it one step at a time.”