Squash
Anahat Singh breaks quarter-final jinx, secures World Junior Squash medal
Anahat had been stopped at the quarter-final stage of the junior worlds for three years in a row, in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Anahat Singh during her final qualifying round match at British Open 2025 (Photo credit: British Open)
India’s top-ranked female squash player, Anahat Singh, scripted a breakthrough at the 2025 World Squash Junior Championships in Cairo on Thursday, clinching a spot in the semi-finals and securing her first-ever medal at the prestigious tournament.
The 17-year-old from Delhi, seeded second, defeated Egypt’s Malika Elkaraksy 11-6, 13-11, 11-5 in the quarter-finals to break the streak of painful last-eight exits that had defined her previous campaigns. Anahat had been stopped at the quarter-final stage of the junior worlds for three years in a row, in 2022, 2023, and 2024, with each defeat coming at the hands of Egyptian players.
She will now face Egypt’s Nadien Elhammamy in the semi-final on Friday — a rematch of last year’s quarter-final that Anahat had lost.
This win not only ensures Anahat’s long-awaited podium finish at the junior worlds but also fills the only missing piece in her otherwise decorated youth career.
The Indian prodigy has already medalled at top-tier age-group competitions such as the British Junior Open and US Open and is currently ranked No. 54 in the PSA world rankings, the highest among Indian women.
Despite her growing success on the senior tour, Anahat had circled the junior worlds as a key goal this season. Her resolve was on full display in a tense and highly charged quarter-final clash in front of a partisan home crowd at Cairo’s Black Ball Club. After trailing 5-6 in the opening game, she reeled off six straight points to claim the first game. The second game saw Elkaraksy holding two game balls, but Anahat's grit shone through as she clawed her way to a 13-11 win. With the wind knocked out of her opponent’s sails, Anahat quickly closed out the third game.
