“It's every athlete's dream to represent their country in the Olympics" - Anahat Singh on her aspirations to compete at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
The recently concluded Paris Olympics 2024 saw countless teenagers win medals and put on performances that left the world awestruck. India’s very own Manu Bhaker, now 22, started her international journey at multi-sporting international events in her teenage years.
Like Bhaker, Anahat Singh is a prodigy who has already brought India success on the international stage and could continue to do so for many more years. The 16-year-old squash player from Delhi is arguably one of India's most promising young athletes, and her journey so far has been nothing short of remarkable.
At the mere age of 14, she became the youngest athlete to represent India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She also holds the prestigious title of being ranked No. 1 in Asia in the Girls U17 category. Singh was recently crowned the senior national champion for the second year in a row, and her biggest achievement to date is undoubtedly her two medals at the Asian Games.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Anahat Singh opened up about her performance at the Asian Games and her aspirations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
“The selection process for it is quite difficult and confusing,” she admitted, reflecting on the challenges ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
“It's every athlete's dream to represent their country in the Olympics. There's still quite some time left for that, and I'm working towards that day by day. That's the main aim that's in mind,” she added.
Although the 2028 Olympics may seem distant, Anahat is not letting the long timeline deter her focus. While it is definitely a long-term and rather important goal, she aims at taking it one tournament at a time and using them as stepping stones on the path to Olympic glory.
"Right now, 2028, there's still a really long time left. There's still quite a few important tournaments that are there along the way. These four years, I'm just going tournament by tournament, day by day, and slowly improving my game to reach that level so I'm able to play and hopefully get a medal," she said.
Looking back at the Asian Games held in Hangzhou in 2023, Anahat made a significant impact at the continental championships and truly announced herself to the world there. She secured two bronze medals, and while the podium finish was a proud moment for her, she confessed that her team had higher hopes.
“Obviously Asian Games is Asian Games,” she remarked.
“We were really, really happy that we could get two bronze medals. I think that excitement wasn't really there because we knew from the previous days what we were expecting. We knew that we were going to win and we were going to reach the semis, and we were just hoping to get something better than a medal. It's a medal, so two medals is it. I was really happy going home,” she said.
“They don't let me think about it for too long; enjoy it for the day and just forget about it” - Anahat Singh on how she tackles success and continues to improve
For 16-year-old squash sensation Anahat Singh, winning has almost become second nature. Her rise to the top of the junior squash world has been meteoric, but while the accolades and titles keep coming, Anahat’s mindset remains firmly grounded. For her, the joy of winning is fleeting and the drive to keep improving is constant.
When asked how it feels to have made winning such a habit, Anahat was quick to credit her parents for instilling a unique mentality early on.
“My parents, if I've won a really big tournament, they don't let me think about it for too long; enjoy it for the day and just forget about it,” she explained.
“If you keep thinking about it, you don't work towards becoming better. I think that's something that I've been doing ever since I started playing. That's the mentality that my parents have taught me. Just forget about it, enjoy it for the moment, and after that, work towards becoming better, work towards the next tournament. Everyone's playing, everyone's improving, and you have to do the same as well,” she added.
This approach is what has allowed Anahat to continuously push herself, and achieve success at a very young age. Anahat's recent experiences in senior tournaments have further fueled her desire to keep progressing. Competing with older, more seasoned players offered her valuable insight into the levels she aspires to reach.
“It's senior tournaments. There's people who are much older than me. Playing this and just getting a chance to play with people who are older, who have a better level, I live in Delhi, so I don't get to really play with that many girls who are this old because they normally live in places like Bombay and they train abroad, and I don't really get to play with them unless it's tournaments like these,” she explained.
“Just getting to see how everyone's training, what level they've reached, and the PSAs that they're playing and how they're winning, it helps me see what level I'm at and how much I need to improve,” she concluded.
Anahat Singh won the PSA Challenge 3 squash tournament in Sri Lanka earlier this month. She was also crowned the senior national champion for the second year in a row just before the tournament in Sri Lanka.