Washington, Feb 2 (IANS) Teenage sensation and seventh seed Anahat Singh defeated top seed and World No 10. Georgina Kennedy of England with scores of 12-10, 11-5, 11-7 in the Squash on Fire Open final, earning her first PSA Bronze-level title.
This is the biggest title of young Anahat’s career and her 15th overall on the PSA Tour, where the Indian world No. 31 has competed in 26 tournaments.
Kennedy had beaten Singh 3-0 in their only previous encounter at this season’s Canadian Women’s Open, and she made a strong start here, too, bringing up two game balls at 10-8 in the first.
But Anahat, displaying more of the free-flowing squash we’ve seen all week, proceeded to reel off four points on the bounce to close out the game, letting out a big scream of emotion before the players headed off court.
She was then 3-2 down in game two, but from that moment on, barely took a step back, mixing her game up well with attacking boasts, sharp kills and well-placed lobs.
A run of four straight points moved the teenager 6-3 in front, and she would only lose another two points in the game, moving within one game of glory.
A fast start to game three was always likely to be key to Kennedy’s hopes of staging a comeback, but instead it was Anahat who charged out of the blocks, moving 5-1 in front in less than two minutes.
5-1 soon became 10-6 and four match balls, and while the first came and went, Anahat would not have to wait long for her moment of glory, with a clinical forehand boast winner providing a fitting finale to a sensational week.
“I’m extremely happy. I knew I wanted to do well in these events, get my ranking up and also put on a performance, and I’m glad I was able to do that this time,” Anahat said after her victory against the World No 10.
The 17-year-old reached her maiden PSA Bronze-level final at the Squash on Fire Open in Washington with a 3-1 win over US World No. 23 Sabrina Sobhy (11-9, 11-3, 9-11, 11-5) in the semifinals and booked herself a date with England’s Kennedy in the final.
Earlier in the tournament, Anahat staged a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down to defeat No. 2 seed Sana Ibrahim (8-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7), showcasing her resilience and skill.
She has been in excellent form this season, reaching the semi-finals of the Silver-level Canadian Women’s Open, finishing runner-up at the British Junior Open Under-19, helping India win the first-ever Squash World Cup, and claiming the Daly College Cup PSA title in Indore.
At the British Junior Open, she lost a tight four-game final to France’s Lauren Baltayan (9-11, 11-7, 3-11, 9-11), marking her ninth BJO final across different age groups and underscoring her rising stature on the PSA Tour.
–IANS
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