Anahat Singh wins maiden PSA Bronze-level squash crown in Washington
Teenager Anahat Singh claimed her maiden PSA Bronze-level title at the Squash on Fire Open in Washington, defeating World No 10 Georgina Kennedy in straight games. The 17-year-old Indian star has now won 15 PSA Tour titles, underscoring her rising stature
Washington: Teenage sensation and seventh seed Anahat Singh defeated top seed and World No 10 Georgina Kennedy of England 12-10, 11-5, 11-7 in the Squash on Fire Open final, earning her first PSA Bronze-level title.
This is the biggest title of Anahat’s career and her 15th overall on the PSA Tour, where the Indian World No 31 has competed in 26 tournaments.
Kennedy had beaten Anahat 3-0 in their only previous encounter at this season’s Canadian Women’s Open, and she made a strong start here too, bringing up two game balls at 10-8 in the first.
But Anahat, displaying the free-flowing squash she has shown all week, reeled off four points in a row to close out the game, letting out a big scream of emotion before heading off court.
She was 3-2 down in game two, but from that moment on barely took a step back, mixing her game with attacking boasts, sharp kills and well-placed lobs. A run of four straight points moved her 6-3 in front, and she lost only two more points in the game, moving within one game of glory.
A fast start to game three was key, and it was Anahat who charged out of the blocks, moving 5-1 in front in less than two minutes. That soon became 10-6 and four match balls. While the first slipped away, she sealed victory with a clinical forehand boast winner.
“I’m extremely happy. I knew I wanted to do well in these events, get my ranking up and also put on a performance, and I’m glad I was able to do that this time,” Anahat said after her victory.
The 17-year-old reached her maiden PSA Bronze-level final with a 3-1 win over US World No 23 Sabrina Sobhy (11-9, 11-3, 9-11, 11-5) in the semifinals. Earlier, she staged a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down to defeat No 2 seed Sana Ibrahim (8-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7).
Anahat has been in excellent form this season, reaching the semi-finals of the Silver-level Canadian Women’s Open, finishing runner-up at the British Junior Open Under-19, helping India win the first-ever Squash World Cup, and claiming the Daly College Cup PSA title in Indore.
At the British Junior Open, she lost a tight four-game final to France’s Lauren Baltayan (9-11, 11-7, 3-11, 9-11), marking her ninth BJO final across different age groups and underscoring her rising stature on the PSA Tour.
