Asian Games 2026: Anahat Singh's memorable run finishes with a silver

Anahat Singh did not waste any time storming off the court after her last singles point was played at the Asian Games.

This is a teen who hates to lose — doesn’t matter that she pulled out a great win the previous day and coasted along all week before that.

This is a teen who is likely to see this as a gold gone — doesn’t matter that the silver grabbed has not been done by any other woman squash player in the country.

She watched no Indian woman stand on the individual podium in 2023 Hangzhou from the bench as a 15-year-old. She went out there and got the job done herself in 2026 Aichi-Nagoya as an 18-year-old.

And silver medallist Anahat Singh, it will be. Sivasangari Subramaniam, the Malaysian world No.5 defending champion, proved just too hot, too good and one level too high for the 17th-ranked Indian challenger in the 3-0 (11-4, 11-4, 11-7) sweep.

Anahat had been loud and clear about the gold being her goal at the Asian Games. More so with the added reward: a ticket to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics almost two years out. It couldn’t be ticked off, even though the young Indian’s ranking, and the probability that she is going to, at least very least stay there if not rise higher, is bound to keep her Olympic dream alive unless something extraordinary happens.

And Anahat has only risen over the past couple of years. From being ranked outside 500 in December 2024 to getting to the top 30 in December 2025 to cracking the top 20 now, the prodigious talent of Indian squash has been charting a path on the fast lane. One in which she gobbled Challenger level titles, won some bigger PSA ones as well, and became the world junior champion in July.

The Asian Games remained her biggest target for this year. Standing one step away from the biggest prize was Sivasangari. The 27-year-old of Indian descent had been Malaysia’s top pro until a car accident in 2022 derailed her career. It has picked up pace again.

Sivasangari entered this continental stage as the player to beat, not just in Asia but in the world. She blazed into the final of the PSA Squash Tour Finals in June, defeating the current world No.1 Amina Orfi before going down to the then No.1, Hania El Hammamy. In her next tournament, the London Squash Classic in September, she dismantled Anahat while giving her just eight points across the two-game contest.

Their only previous contest, at the 2025 British Open, was a lot closer, where the Indian went toe-to-toe with her in the first game, won the second before the Malaysian upper her level.

Compared to that, Sivasangari is a few notches higher in level at the moment, and with the kind of form and belief up her sleeve, few can stop her.

Anahat certainly couldn't again. The Indian kicked things off by going up 3-1, until Sivasangari went up and stormed ahead. Anahat was hitting the tin with her drops and clipping the side walls even as Sivasangari wasn't missing anything. She reeled off eight straight points, and did not let her opponent find a way back again.

The 18-year-old smacked the ball in frustration during the second game. Those were the kind of signs of frustration that weren't there in her semi-final against world No.6 Satomi Watanabe.

Anahat engineered a memorable fightback against Satomi from two games down. Against Sivasangari, despite being more competitive in the third game, she couldn’t.