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'Asian Games is the most important tournament of my life', says squash champ Anahat Singh
New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) Fresh from becoming the first Indian to win the World Junior Squash Championship, teenager Anahat Singh has already shifted her focus to the next major challenge, the 2026 Asian Games, which she describes as the "most important tournament" of her life, with Olympic qualification also at stake. The 18-year-old, who ended Egypt's long-standing dominance of the World Junior women's singles event with her historic triumph in Canada, is now preparing for the continental showpiece, where she will face a field packed with Asia's leading players. " I think it's just the most important tournament of my life coming up. So I'm just going to give it my all in the next few months," Anahat said at a felicitation event organised by the Squash Federation of India in partnership with HCL Squash. Squash will make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles in 2028, making the Asian Games an important opportunity for Anahat as she looks to put herself in contention for a place at the historic first Olympic squash competition. "Making it to the Olympics is every athlete's dream. And being the first squash player ever to do it would be something that would make me the happiest in the world," she added. Anahat, currently ranked among the world's top 20, is under no illusion about the challenge awaiting her in the Asian Games. The field is expected to include several high-ranked players from Malaysia, Hong Kong and Japan, making the continental event a stern test for the young Indian. "There are a lot of other players from Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Japan, who are all in the top 10 in the world, top 20 in the world, and they're also really big competitors," Anahat told IANS. Despite the high stakes and the quality of opposition, Anahat is keen to avoid getting caught up in the bigger picture. Instead, she wants to approach the competition one match at a time. "And I think just, you know, taking it match by match and, you know, I don't even know who I'm playing yet. So I think just focusing on, you know, who I'm going to be playing in the events and take it from there," she added. The Indian teenager also wants to use the remaining time to make the necessary improvements before the Asian Games. "If I'm able to train really hard for the next few months and, you know, really improve and play my best game in the Asian Games, then it would be amazing. And this is, as we said, just the beginning," she said. Anahat has already experienced the Asian Games, having competed at the previous edition, and the memories from that campaign have given her another reason to look forward to returning to the continental event. "Going into the Asian Games, people would expect me to be really stressed out because of the high stakes going into the event. But I'm just looking forward to being there. Last time I played the Asian Games, I'd say they were the two best weeks of my life. I had so much fun, and it was just an amazing experience being at the village and getting to see so many of the top athletes," she said. And honestly, I'm just really looking forward to doing that again, but slightly different this time. But I'm just taking that as a motivating factor to do well and, you know, just play my best," she added. Anahat's rise has been swift. Earlier this year, she won the Squash On Fire Open after defeating then-World No.10 Georgina Kennedy in the final and became the youngest Asian player to break into the world's top 20. She then completed her junior career in style in Canada, beating Egypt's Ruqayya Salem 11-3, 11-7, 11-9 in the final to become the first Indian to win the World Junior women's singles title. --IANS sds/bsk/
