From Badminton Courts to Squash History: The Sacrifices Behind Anahat Singh’s Journey | EXCLUSIVE

Anahat Singh recently etched her name in Indian sporting history by becoming the first Indian to win the World Junior Squash Championship.

In an exclusive conversation with RevSportz, Tani Singh, Anahat’s mother, opened up about Anahat’s journey from badminton to squash, the sacrifices she had to make and how her stellar world junior triumph has still not sunk in.

Q: How does it feel to see your daughter become the first Indian to win the World Junior title?

Like Anahat said, it has really not sunk in. We are still in the middle of the tournament with the team championships going on, so the tournament is not over yet.

On the day she won the medal, we were not there for the presentation ceremony because I had gone to meet my elder daughter at that point. The only way we are really looking at it is through social media, and that is how we are celebrating because every second post is about her.

I think we will celebrate when we get back to India and that is when it will actually sink in, when we speak to our friends and family.

Even though we are really excited, right now, the focus is on playing well in the team event. We do not want her to lose focus.

Q: Anahat was initially interested in badminton. How did the switch to squash happen?

She always wanted to play sports and was good at almost every sport as a child. We lived very close to Siri Fort in Delhi, where a lot of the major badminton tournaments used to take place. Players from India and other countries would come there, and we would go and watch them.

When she was five years old, she insisted that she wanted to play badminton. However, the academy at Siri Fort had a minimum age requirement of six.

One day, I just lied about her age and I told them that she was six and I would bring her birth certificate the next time. My only worry was that she has a petite body, and at five, she probably looked three or four.

Nonetheless, they took her in for a few days and I did not return to the academy for some time because I wanted to avoid giving them the birth certificate! When I went back a few months later, I asked whether they still wanted it and surprisingly they told me that she had real talent and could become a good player.

She continued to play badminton for a couple of years. For us, it was initially just a hobby outside school and we were not looking at it as a serious sport at that stage. However, the coaches told us that she had talent and we should make more of an effort to get her to play for longer hours.

Q: How did she then become interested in squash?

My elder daughter started playing squash at school and she started loving it and began travelling for tournaments. Anahat saw that her sister was travelling to different places, whereas badminton tournaments happened more locally. She then said that she also wanted to travel.

We enrolled her in a squash tournament even though she did not really know how to play. She just hit the ball because she already had good hand-eye coordination. Gradually, she started liking it.

For some time, she was playing both badminton and squash, but she eventually had to choose one. By the time she was around 10, she had won the British Junior Open in the Under-11 category, and started leaning more towards squash.

Additionally convenience was initially one of the factors. We felt that since both our daughters were playing the same sport, it would be much easier for us. Earlier, my husband would travel with Anahat for badminton while I travelled with my elder daughter for squash. It was becoming very difficult to manage.

Q: People often see Anahat as a calm and composed player on court. Is she the same at home?

Yes, she is. She is not hyper, although in terms of activity, she always wants to be doing something.

Otherwise, she is a calm and happy girl. She is generally smiling and does not take too much pressure.

Q: Anahat has spoken about missing parties with friends because of tournaments. Was it difficult for you to watch her make those sacrifices?

Initially, it was a choice that she had to make. We would keep telling her, “This is your choice. You decide.”

Over time, she realised that if she wanted to travel and win squash tournaments, she would have to put in the time.

A lot of birthday parties and other events would happen while she was travelling and sometimes she would be unhappy about missing them. However, her friends made a lot of effort to ensure that parties happened after she returned and even we would celebrate only once everyone was back home. My elder daughter was also travelling, so it was not only Anahat.

As she grew older, it became more difficult. Children have school during the week, and weekends are usually when tournaments happen, so she did miss out on a lot.

She loves being with her friends and family and spending time with them. That is her time to switch off. Now, she is old enough to organise things herself and fit them in between tournaments.

Effort is made from every side to ensure that she does not feel left out.

Q: What was the conversation you had with her after she won the final?

Honestly, I was not there for very long. As soon as she won, we left. I gave her a big hug and then had to go. Since we had to go and meet our elder daughter as well.

We left Anahat with her team and the coaches so that she could enjoy herself.

Obviously, I was overwhelmed. But honestly, even now, I cannot believe it.

For us, it still feels like another win. We are yet to fully understand the importance of it and how big the achievement is.

At the same time, she has so many other tournaments coming up, so we cannot think about it for too long. We now have to start preparing for the next challenge.

The Indian coaches are already trying to set up her training schedule because the Asian Games are coming up, and that is also very important.

You do not have too much time to celebrate. You have to move on to the next step.

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