Squash
Squash: Anahat Singh wins U-15 British Junior Open title
This is the 14-year-old Indian's second title at the Open.
Anahat Singh (Source: British Junior Open)
Indian squash prodigy Anahat Singh clinched the U-15 British Junior Open title on Sunday, in Birmingham. This is her second title at the Open, the first being the U-11 title back in 2019.
Moreover, she was also in the U-13 final in the 2020 edition, but came out of it as the runner-up.
The 14-year-old defeated Egypt's Sohaila Hazem 3-1 in the final. The first set was closely-contested but the Indian managed to start the match with a lead after winning it 11-8. The Egyptian, however, came back into the tie after winning the second set 11-8 as well.
It was in the third set in which Singh's mettle was tested. She showed great composure to come back from a deficit of 6-1 to win the set 11-7. In the next one, the Indian strolled through the set with the score line of 11-5 to win her second British Junior Open title.
In the semi-final, Anahat had registered a straightforward 11-5, 11-4, 11-2 win over another Egyptian in Malak Samir in just 18 minutes.
With this title, the youngster became only the second Indian to win two titles at the Open. Joshna Chinappa is the other Indian to have achieved the feat. She had clinched the U17 Girl's title in 2003 and followed it up with the U19 title in 2005.
The other Indians to have won the British Junior Open include Sourav Ghosh (Boy's U19 in 2004), Mahesh Mangaonkar (Boy's U15 in 2009), Velavan Senthilkumar (Boy's U19 in 2017), and Dipika Pallikal (Girl's U17 in 2008).
