Niagara-on-the-Lake, July 26: Anahat Singh has made history by becoming the first Indian player to win the World Junior Squash Championship. The 18-year-old clinched the women’s title at the championship held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday.
Ranked World No. 20 and the top seed, Anahat had previously won a bronze medal at last year’s competition after reaching the semifinals. This time, she triumphed in the women’s final against Egypt’s second seed, Rukaya Salem, with a score of 11-3, 11-7, 11-9, securing the biggest title of her career.
Anahat is also the first non-Egyptian player to win the World Junior Squash Championship title since Amanda Sobhi from the USA in 2010. Her victory breaks a 15-year dominance by Egyptian players, which began in 2011.
On Friday night, Anahat became the first Indian to reach the finals of the World Squash Junior Championship in 21 years, defeating Egypt’s Barb Sameh in four games. She continued her impressive season by overcoming another Egyptian player in the final.
After her semifinal win, Anahat expressed her joy, stating, “I am really very happy. I played against Barb in the British Junior Open a few months ago, and it was a tough match, so I knew I had to play really well. I didn’t show my best game yesterday, and I knew I had to prove what I could do today. I have played four World Junior tournaments and lost in the quarter-finals and semifinals, so reaching the finals makes my parents and coach very happy, but the tournament is not over yet.”
In the men’s competition, Egypt’s top seed, Mohamed Zakaria, is on track to win his third World Junior title, having reached the finals for the fourth consecutive time after defeating his compatriot, Seifeldin Rafeh, in straight games. Zakaria will face Egypt’s second seed, Adam Hawal, in the final.
Deependra Singh Chundawat is a Senior Sub-Editor at Udaipur Kiran, specializing in a wide range of technology topics including mobile phones, applications, gaming, PCs, and wearables. Along with covering the latest tech news, he also creates engaging web stories. Passionate about emerging technologies, he stays up to date with the newest trends and enjoys reading and writing about the latest mobile launches and digital innovations.
