On winning run, Anahat Singh underlines promise once again

The 17-year-old has won 2 tournaments in a row but is well aware of challenges that lie ahead

- Rutvick Mehta

Over the last few days on the squash glass court of Bombay Gymkhana, Anahat Singh has waltzed past 17-year-old Egyptian Nadien Elhammamy whom she had previously lost to twice, 38-year-old compatriot Joshna Chinappa whom she grew up watching, and Hong Kong teen Helen Tang whom she beat in the final to win the JSW Indian Open on Friday.

The 17-year-old has managed to manoeuvre an extreme range of opponents in terms of age and stature to drive home one of her young career's biggest titles and the second in as many weeks. The triumphs in Chennai and Mumbai have leapfrogged her to being the top-ranked woman in the country at 68th, and further underlined the promise that she carries.

Key checkpoints, though, will arrive in her progress journey over the next couple of years as she starts playing the bigger PSA events and facing stiffer opponents. When the range will get stronger instead of wider.

"This is one of the biggest tournaments I've won to date. And this will drive my rankings further, which will open up the opportunity to play a lot of the bigger tournaments," Anahat said after beating Tang 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-8).

That's where, as her mentor Saurav Ghosal puts it, there's a big difference being "60 in the world and 6 in the world".