‘You can’t let an Olympic place slip away so quickly’: Anahat Singh’s stunning confession after 0-2 comeback

Anahat Singh of India (PTI Photo) Indian teenager Anahat Singh staged a remarkable comeback against top-ranked Japan’s Satomi Watanabe to reach the women’s singles final at the Asian Games squash tournament on Saturday, while Abhay Singh also secured a place in the men’s singles title.Anahat and Abhay are now one win away from securing a place in the 2028 Olympics, with the Asian Games gold medalists in men’s and women’s singles earning direct qualification for the Games.Anahat, 18, scored the biggest win of her career when she recovered from a two-match deficit to beat world number six Satomi 3-2 in a thrilling 51-minute semi-final at the Nagoya Kinjo-Futo Arena.Anahat won 9-11, 11-13, 12-10, 11-6, 11-3, a revenge for her previous five-game defeat against the Japanese player.“The last time she won, I was 2-0 up and ended up losing. And I think this time it was the other way around,” Anahat said after the match.Anahat also had the prospect of an Olympic qualifying spot on her mind as she fought her way back into contention after falling two games behind.“That’s what I’m focusing on. It’s something I think about it that’s more motivational than pressure. When I was losing, the first thought that came to my mind was that you can’t let an Olympic spot slip by so quickly and you have to really push for it. That’s what kept playing over and over in my head and I think that’s something that motivates me rather than the pressure you should be in the Olympics,” Anahat said.Anahat looked close to defeat after losing their opening two matches. She managed to tie the first at 6-6 before Satomi moved ahead and eventually closed it out at 11-9.The second match took place in a similar spirit. Anahat fought back to tie the score at 10-10 and then move to 11-10, but Satomi responded strongly, scoring three more points to take the match to 13-11.The Indian then produced a game-changing turnover.At 8-10 in the third game, Anahat scored four straight points to win 12-10. She carried that momentum into the fourth, where she once again rallied from an early deficit to make it 6-6 before stringing together five straight points to take the decider.Anahata’s control, accuracy and well-executed drops continued to trouble Satomi as she struggled to regain the momentum she established early in the match.The deciding game was mostly one-way traffic. Anahat dominated the exchanges, setting up at least three soft drops and taking advantage of a series of unforced errors from Satomi to complete the comeback.The semi-final was briefly interrupted after both players collided during the second match, with Anahat receiving medical attention.“I bit my tongue. So it bled, nothing serious,” she said.Anahat, the world junior champion, will face Malaysia’s world number one Sivasangari Subramaniam in Sunday’s final. Sivasangari defeated Hong Kong’s Chan Sin Yuk in the other semi-final.“I still have a match left. If I’m going to play the No. 1 seed, she’s a great player. I’ve played her many times. I’m just excited to get on the court and see what I can do,” said the world junior champion.

Abhay prepares for a clash in Malaysia

Abhay Singh, meanwhile, had a relatively easier path to the final, defeating Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan 3-0 in 35 minutes.Abhay won 11-3, 12-10, 11-6 to challenge for the title. Earlier at these Games, he won gold in the men’s team event and bronze in the mixed doubles.“It wasn’t easy. I think I did well to make it easy, but respect your opponent. No match at the Asian Games is going to be easy,” Abhay said later.He will face Malaysia’s NG Eain Yow in Sunday’s final. NG Eain Yow defeated Pakistan’s Zaman Noor in the other semi-final.“I think all the people listening to you love the India-Pakistan stuff, but for us it’s just another opponent, just another game. Too many people put too much work into us, you have to come and do them justice.”