India’s Anahat Singh wins NSW Open 2024, claims seventh title this year

Modified Nov 11, 2024 12:33 IST

India’s Anahat Singh grew in stature after claiming her seventh PSA Challenger title in 2024. On Sunday, November 10, she bagged the NSW Open 2024 in Sydney, Australia.

Earlier this month, the 16-year-old squash player broke into the top 100 after also winning the JSW Willingdon LMS, Hamdard Squashters Northern Slam, HCL Squash Tour, Reliance PSA Challenge 3, HCL Squash Tour, and the Costa North Coast Open.

In the NSW Open, Anahat began her campaign with a 3-0 (11-2, 11-3, 11-7) win over Japan’s Kurumi Takahashi, a wildcard entrant, without breaking a sweat. In the quarters, the second seed got the better of Japan’s Akari Midorikawa, winning 3-1 (9-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-7). In the semis, Anahat defeated Wong Po Yui Kirstie from Hong Kong 3-1 (11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8).

In the final against Hong Kong’s Helen Tang, Anahat was under pressure after dropping the first game. But she made a stupendous comeback to win the match 3-1 (8-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-4).

Even as Anahat came up trumps and kept racking up titles, Urwashi Joshi could not make the same impact. Urwashi received a bye in the first round but faced an unexpected defeat at the hands of Korea’s Dong Ju Song, who won the second-round match 3-1 (12-10, 4-11, 5-11, 9-11.

Currently ranked world No. 93, Anahat also bagged the Juniors and Seniors Nationals titles earlier this year. At 14 years of age, she became India’s youngest participant in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where she also won a match.