After creating history for India and amid a gap year before college, what is next for Anahat?
Anahat Singh, an 18-year-old squash player, reflects on her historic win as the first Indian to secure the World Junior Squash Championship. She emphasizes focusing on her training and game rather than external expectations or historical narratives surrounding her opponents.
Why it matters
Her victory marks a significant milestone for Indian sports and highlights the psychological discipline required for elite youth athletes.
NEW DELHI: "It felt really unreal. I felt like I was dreaming. I still feel like I'm dreaming." That's how Anahat Singh described the moment the Indian flag went up after she became the first Indian ever to win the World Junior Squash Championship.She carried that same disbelief during the virtual media interaction facilitated by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Monday, unwilling to let the moment inflate into something bigger than it was.Asked how she balances the expectations now piling up around her, Anahat reached straight for something her parents had drilled into her long before the trophies started arriving."You don't have to think too much about what other people expect from you," she said. "Just go into play and focus on the amount of training I've done and my game rather than everything else behind it."The tournament she'd just won gave it teeth.
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