Joshna to Anahat, passing of the baton

Two generations of Indian squash

- Rutvick Mehta

Anahat Singh, the youngest member of the Indian women's squash team for the Asian Games, says she has the most fun when she's around Joshna Chinappa, her oldest teammate. No matter that the former is 15 and the latter 37.

"She understands my jokes and even I get hers," Anahat says with a chuckle.

Joshna would also perhaps understand what it's like to be Anahat, a young squash talent in India taking giant strides while holding bigger promise for the future.

When Joshna made her first trip to the Asian Games in 2002 as a wide-eyed kid in Busan, she was 15. The same age as Anahat, who will get her first taste of the continental multi-sport spread in Hangzhou. Her jovial teammate is preparing for her sixth Asian Games appearance. Together, they'll form half of the Indian women's team - it also includes Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Tanvi Khanna-that takes on Pakistan in its team opener on Tuesday.

The similarities between two of Indian squash's cream at either end of the career spectrum goes beyond the timing of their first Asian Games outing. Joshna was 16 when she won the girls U-17 title at the prestigious British Junior Open in 2003, by when she was already a junior and senior national champion.