On 26 July 2026, Indian squash witnessed its biggest moment yet. At the World Junior Squash Championships in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, 18-year-old Anahat Singh defeated Egypt’s Ruqayya Salem 11-3, 11-7, 11-9 to become the first Indian ever to win the World Junior Squash Championship. In doing so, she also ended Egypt’s 13-year dominance in the girls’ event, a feat that had eluded every Indian squash player before her.
Born on 13 March 2008 in New Delhi, Anahat first loved badminton before discovering squash at the age of six. Coached by former world No. 1 Grégory Gaultier, alongside Indian legend Saurav Ghosal, she quickly emerged as one of the brightest young talents in world squash. She turned professional in 2023, and within three years had climbed into the World No. 19 ranking—an extraordinary achievement for a teenager.
Her list of achievements is already remarkable. She represented India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games at just 14 years of age, becoming one of the youngest members of the Indian contingent. Between 2023 and 2026, she captured 16 PSA Tour titles, won the Indian National Championship three years in a row (2023, 2024 and 2025), claimed two Asian Junior Championship gold medals, and earned a bronze medal at the 2025 World Junior Championships. In 2025, the Professional Squash Association honoured her with both the Young Player of the Year and Challenger Player of the Year awards.
Ironically, the world title arrived only after heartbreak. Last year in Cairo, Anahat’s campaign ended with a bronze medal, leaving her one step short of the final. Rather than letting that disappointment define her, she returned stronger. In Canada, she did not drop a single game in the final, dismantling the second seed with remarkable composure to rewrite Indian sporting history.
Indian squash has produced icons like Dipika Pallikal, Joshna Chinappa and Saurav Ghosal, who inspired generations and brought the sport into the limelight. Yet, the World Junior title had remained beyond India’s reach for decades. Anahat Singh has finally filled that blank space in the record books.
Some victories add another medal to the cabinet. Others change what an entire generation believes is possible. Anahat Singh’s triumph belongs to the second kind. It is a chapter that every young Indian squash player will grow up reading.
