Ahead of the JSW Indian Open, starting in the city today, India’s teenaged squash sensation and defending champion Anahat Singh reveals she’s eyeing gold at continental event in Japan to ensure automatic qualification for 2028 Olympics
India’s Ramit Tandon (left) and Anahat Singh at the JSW Indian Open press conference on Tuesday
Delhi-based teenaged squash star and Asian Games medallist Anahat Singh, 18 is eyeing a top-class performance in the continental event to be held in Japan from September 19 - October 4 this year to qualify for the all important 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Anahat, ranked World No. 19, who believes Mumbai is a lucky place for her, is confident of defending her title at the JSW Indian Open, which begins at the Cricket Club of India today. “I’m really looking forward to this tournament, it’s great being back. I won it last time [2025]. So, it’s lucky for me to come back and play this event and it’s at CCI, it’s such a great venue and I’ve played so many tournaments here. Just to be back and playing is something that’s really amazing,” Anahat told mid-day on Tuesday.
Anahat Singh. Pic/Getty Images
When asked about her next immediate goal, Anahat, who won two bronze medals at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, replied: “The qualification for the LA Games is quite confusing, but one of them is that if you win the Asian Games [in Japan], then you’re automatically qualified, so definitely, that’s on my mind. [If] I have automatic [Olympics] qualification, I will be able to focus on just training and focusing on LA 2028. But besides that as well, it’s my ranking, so just in case I don’t end up winning the gold at the Asian Games, then, these tournaments are really important because they help me build my ranking and just get as high up as possible.”
Meanwhile, Ramit Tandon, 33, ranked No. 4 in the tournament, who won a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, is equally determined for a big achievement, insisting that age is not a factor.
“We have Cristiano Ronaldo at 40 or 42, Novak Djokovic is still competing at a very high level. And even in the Indian cricket team, Virat [Kohli], Rohit [Rohit] are still in the ODIs. There are a bunch of other players too. Even if you look at Saurav Ghosal, he retired at 38. He won his first Commonwealth bronze at 36 [at Gold Coast in 2018]. So 35-36 is still an age that people can compete to the max of their potential,” Tandon told mid-day.
19
Anahat Singh’s current global ranking
14
Total No. of international medals won by Anahat Singh — six gold and eight bronze
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