Anahat Singh stuns World No. 11 Nele Gilis to reach London Squash Classic quarters

Indian squash star Anahat Singh stunned World No. 11 Nele Gilis 13-11, 4-11, 11-8 to reach the London Squash Classic quarterfinals. The 18-year-old became the first Indian woman since 2021 to reach the last eight of a PSA Gold event.

London: Women’s World No 20 Anahat Singh advanced to the quarterfinals of the London Squash Classic with a thrilling 2-1 win over Belgian world No 11 Nele Gilis on Thursday.

Reigning world junior champion Anahat beat eighth seed Gilis 13-11, 4-11, 11-8 in 39 minutes in the second round of the USD 144,000 PSA Gold event in what was their first meeting on the tour.

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The 18-year-old Anahat Singh has become the first Indian woman since 2021 to reach the quarterfinals of a PSA Gold-level tournament after a commanding performance saw her upset No.8 seed Gilis, who reached the final of the London Classic last year.

The crowd at Ally Pally were treated to a series of high-octane rallies, with Anahat edging the first game before being pegged back by a resurgent Gilis.

However, Anahat was able to keep her opponent in the back of the court to dominate the ‘T’ and was clinical in the front corners to close out the victory.

“She’s a great player. “I played her a year and a half ago at the World Teams, and that match really helped me get experience for the PSA circuit. It’s always been my dream to play in a venue like this, so it’s very exciting,” Anahat said of her opponent.

“I honestly don’t love it [the best of three format]. You can’t really prepare for it, but I had to be more focused than I would be in a best of five match. It’s great here [in London]; I’ve been roaming the city a lot. I’ve seen this venue over the years on Instagram, so I’ve been really excited to play here,” said the Indian star.

Up ahead for Anahat in the next round is a clash with the 2024 winner Sivasangari Subramaniam, who got the better of Nardine Garas.

The Malaysian memorably beat World No.1 Hania El Hammamy, eight-time World Champion Nour ElSherbini and Belgium’s Nele Gilis en route to winning her biggest title at this very venue two years ago. And she looks a good bet to go deep into the tournament once again following a pair of 11-5 wins.

The clash between Anahat Singh and Sivasangari Subramaniam will be a match that could be a precursor to what to expect at the Asian Games next month, where squash’s first Olympians will be decided.

In men’s first round, world No 42 Ramit Tandon beat Qatar’s Abdullah Al-Tamimi 11-6, 11-7, while world No 38 Veer Chotrani lost to higher-ranked Yannick Wilhelmi of Switzerland 9-11, 9-11.

Meanwhile, in other matches in Round 2 on Thursday, No.2 seed Victor Crouin stormed into the last eight for the loss of just four points.

Power and control were both on show from the Frenchman, who dominated proceedings at Ally Pally.

Crouin will take on No.7 seed Leonel Cardenas next and had this to say following his win.