Anahat Singh clinches Indian Open squash

India’s top woman squash player, Anahat Singh, showed exactly why she is at the top of the pile, as she despatched the challenge from Helen Tang to clinch the JSW Indian Open title in grand style, at the Bombay Gymkhana, on Friday evening.

This was 17-year-old Delhiite’s sixth title on the bounce. 

She had Helen fighting hard in the other corner during the first set of the final, but Anahat did enough to clinch a 1-0 lead. Following the win in the first set, the third seed Anahat began to dominate and rattled off the next couple of sets in 13 minutes.

Anahat Singh and men's champion Kareem El Torkey of Egypt 

Anahat, who did not let her opponent settle down at all during the course of the summit clash, eventually won the final in 24 minutes, with a scoreline of 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-8). The win gives Anahat 300 ranking points, and it is her 11th career title. 

In the men’s singles final, Abhay Singh had his task cut out against the Egyptian Kareem El Torkey. The two players kicked off the evening with some top-notch squash in the first set.

Anahat Singh and runner-up Helen Tang of Hong Kong

Kareem clinched a tight first set after which he rattled off the next with relative ease. After the breather, a determined Abhay bounced back to clinch the third set. The fourth set saw Kareem surge ahead to start with before Abhay dug deep and almost won the set.

However, Kareem showed nerves of steel, and edged out the Indian, to clinch the title. Kareem’s win also gives him 500 ranking points. 

The JSW Indian Open is India's first ever PSA Squash Copper tournament, and the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals were played in an outdoor glass court, which gave the fans a very unique viewing experience.

Final Scores

[3] Anahat Singh (IND) bt Helen Tang (HKG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 (24m)

Kareem El Torkey (EGY) bt [6] Abhay Singh (IND) 3-1: 12-10, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10 (84m)

Tags : Anahat Singh, JSW Indian Open, Bombay Gymkhana, Kareem El Torkey, Egypt