Squash: Anahat Singh storms into Canadian Open quarterfinals

Ontario, October 27 (IANS): India’s Anahat Singh continued her impressive run on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour, defeating England’s Saran Nghiem in four games to reach the quarterfinals of the Canadian Women’s Open in Toronto, Canada.The 18-year-old, currently ranked world No. 15, defeated the world No. 52 by an 11-6, 4-11, 11-5, 11-7 margin in the second round of the USD 103,750 PSA Silver-level tournament. The sixth seed had received a bye in the opening round.Anahat made a confident start, claiming the opening game 11-6, but Nghiem responded emphatically to take the second 11-4 and level the contest. The Indian regained control in the third game, winning 11-5 before closing out the match with an 11-7 victory in the fourth.The result extends Anahat’s encouraging run following her maiden semifinal appearance at a PSA Gold-level event, the Silicon Valley Open, last week. She reached the last-four stage in the United States before losing to Malaysia’s Sivasangari Subramaniam in four games.The reigning world junior champion now faces a tougher test in the Canadian Open quarterfinals, where she will meet Egypt’s Fayrouz Aboelkheir. The world No. 7 is the tournament’s top seed, setting up a challenging encounter for the Indian as she looks to secure another significant result on the professional circuit.Anahat’s recent performances have strengthened her position among the emerging players on the women’s tour, with consecutive deep runs at tournaments in the United States and Canada offering valuable experience against established international opposition.Meanwhile, India’s Veer Chotrani exited the men’s competition at the PSA Silver-level Canada Cup, also held in Toronto. The world No. 36 lost 7-11, 7-11, 6-11 to England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy in the second round.Chotrani had entered the contest after defeating Japan’s Ryunosuke Tsukue in straight games but could not overcome the experienced ElShorbagy.With Anahat through to the last eight, the Indian will now look to carry her recent momentum into a quarterfinal clash against one of the tournament’s highest-ranked competitors.