London Squash Classic: Anahat Singh To Face Sivasangari Subramaniam In Quarter-Finals
Women's World No. 20 Anahat Singh advanced to the quarterfinals of the London Squash Classic with a thrilling 2-1 win over Belgium's World No. 11 Nele Gilis.
Women's World No. 20 Anahat Singh advanced to the quarterfinals of the London Squash Classic with a thrilling 2-1 win over Belgium's World No. 11 Nele Gilis on Thursday. Reigning world junior champion Anahat beat eighth seed Gilis 13-11, 4-11, 11-8 in 39 minutes in the second round of the USD 144,000 PSA Gold event in what was their first meeting on the tour. The 18-year-old Anahat Singh has become the first Indian woman since 2021 to reach the quarterfinals of a PSA Gold-level tournament after a commanding performance saw her upset No. 8 seed Gilis, who reached the final of the London Classic last year.
The crowd at Ally Pally were treated to a series of high-octane rallies, with Anahat edging the first game before being pegged back by a resurgent Gilis.
However, Anahat was able to keep her opponent at the back of the court to dominate the 'T' and was clinical in the front corners to close out the victory.
"She's a great player. I played her a year and a half ago at the World Teams, and that match really helped me get experience for the PSA circuit. It's always been my dream to play in a venue like this, so it's very exciting," Anahat said of her opponent.
"I honestly don't love it [the best-of-three format]. You can't really prepare for it, but I had to be more focused than I would be in a best-of-five match. It's great here [in London]; I've been roaming the city a lot. I've seen this venue over the years on Instagram, so I've been really excited to play here," said the Indian star.
Up ahead for Anahat in the next round is a clash with the 2024 winner, Sivasangari Subramaniam, who got the better of Nardine Garas.
The Malaysian memorably beat World No. 1 Hania El Hammamy, eight-time world champion Nour El Sherbini and Belgium's Nele Gilis en route to winning her biggest title at this very venue two years ago. She looks a good bet to go deep into the tournament once again following a pair of 11-5 wins.
The clash between Anahat Singh and Sivasangari Subramaniam could be a precursor to what to expect at the Asian Games next month, where squash's first Olympians will be decided.
In the men's first round, World No. 42 Ramit Tandon beat Qatar's Abdullah Al-Tamimi 11-6, 11-7, while World No. 38 Veer Chotrani lost to higher-ranked Yannick Wilhelmi of Switzerland 9-11, 9-11.
Meanwhile, in other second-round matches on Thursday, No. 2 seed Victor Crouin stormed into the last eight for the loss of just four points.
Power and control were both on show from the Frenchman, who dominated proceedings at Ally Pally.
Crouin will take on No. 7 seed Leonel Cardenas next.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)