Anahat Singh made history on Saturday, 26 July at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, becoming the first Indian player ever to win the World Junior Squash Championship. The 17-year-old top seed defeated Egypt's second seed Ruqayya Salem in straight games — 11-3, 11-7, 11-9 — in the women's final, ending a run of Egyptian dominance in the event that had stretched unbroken since 2011.

A Historic Final

Anahat's victory was commanding from the first game. Entering as the tournament's top seed, she absorbed early pressure from Salem before pulling away decisively in each game. The 11-3, 11-7, 11-9 scoreline reflected both her consistency and her ability to close out high-stakes moments. The win also made her the first non-Egyptian player to lift the women's World Junior title since American Amanda Sobhy claimed it in 2010 — a 15-year wait for a champion from outside Cairo's squash academies.

The Road to the Final

Anahat had already rewritten the record books before the championship match. Her semifinal victory over Egypt's Barb Sameh in four games made her the first Indian player in 21 years to reach the World Junior final. That run through the draw — beating Egyptian opponents in both the last four and the final — underscored the scale of what she achieved in Ontario. She entered the tournament with top seeding and justified every bit of that billing.

Shikhar Dhawan Leads the Tributes

Former India cricket captain Shikhar Dhawan was among the first prominent voices to celebrate the achievement, posting on X: 'History created! Congratulations to Anahat Singh on becoming the first Indian to win the World Junior Squash Championship. A phenomenal achievement that will inspire generations. Keep shining!' The reaction reflected the wider significance of the win — squash remains a sport that rarely commands mainstream attention in India, making a world title of this magnitude a rare crossover moment.

What It Means for Indian Squash

This is not merely a personal milestone. Indian squash has long operated in the shadow of Egyptian and British dominance at the junior and senior levels. Anahat's triumph at the World Juniors — the sport's most prestigious age-group title — signals a structural shift in where the next generation of world-class players may come from. Notably, this comes at a time when Indian squash has been investing in junior pathways, and the result validates that direction. The Squash Rackets Federation of India is yet to formally comment, but the win is expected to accelerate calls for greater institutional support for the sport.

Men's Event: Egypt Holds On

On the men's side, the tournament remained firmly Egyptian territory. Top seed Mohamad Zakaria reached his fourth consecutive World Junior final after defeating compatriot Selfeldin Refaay in straight games. His opponent in the final will be second seed Adam Hawal, who advanced after Marwan Assal retired injured during their semifinal, with Hawal already ahead by two games at the time. The men's final is yet to be played.

Anahat Singh's landmark win puts Indian squash on the global map in a way that no result before it has, and the pressure will now be on administrators and sponsors to build on this moment.