Anahat Singh makes history at Asian Games with stunning comeback win

Indian squash player Anahat Singh fought back from two games down against World number six Satomi Watanabe of Japan to reach the singles final at the Asian Games. Anahat was trailing 0-2 after losing the first two games 9-11 and 11-13. In the crucial third game, she saved three match points and turned the match around to win the next three games 12-10, 11-6, and 11-3, taking the overall tie 3-2.

The Turning Point

After dropping the second game closely, the 18-year-old completely changed the momentum by conceding only nine points while winning 22 points in the final three games. Anahat later said that the thought of the Olympic spot pushed her forward when she was losing. The Asian Games offers one direct Olympic quota to the singles champion for both men and women. Her coaches also told her not to stress and to stick to her game plan while she was trailing.

Historic Milestone

With this victory, Anahat became the first ever Indian squash player to reach a singles final at the Asian Games. She called it the biggest and best win of her career because she had never beaten a player ranked as high as world number six before. She will now play in the final against top seed Sivasangari Subramaniam of Malaysia.