India’s Anahat Singh Shocks Defending Champion Tinne Gilis To Enter Canadian Open Squash Semis

Anahat Singh during an event. (PTI Photo)

Rising India star Anahat Singh continued her giant killing spree at the 2025 Canadian Open squash as she knocked out defending champion and world No. 7 Tinne Gilis in straight games to storm into the semifinals on Tuesday. Anahat won 12-11, 11-9, 11-9 and will next face Georgia Kennedy of England on Wednesday.

In the other semifinal, Amina Orfi will take on Amanda Sobhy. The title clash will be held on October 30 (Thursday).

Delhi’s Anahat Singh, the reigning national champion, had earlier caused an upset when she defeated world No. 20 Melissa Alves of France to enter the quarterfinals of the USD 96,250 PSA Silver event in Toronto.

Continued her impressive run, the 17-year-old from Delhi, ranked world No. 43, defeated sixth seed Alves 12-10, 12-10, 8-11, 11-2 in a 41-minute battle on Sunday.

Anahat had started her campaign with a straight-game win over Cindy Merlo before getting the better of Melissa Alves in four games to advance to the quarters.

She had a stellar 2024-25 season, culminating in two prestigious accolades at the PSA Awards. The teenager won the Women’s Challenger Player of the Season award while sharing the Women’s Young Player of the Season award with Egypt’s Amina Orfi.

Over the season, she pocketed nine titles from 11 tournaments, comprising eight Challenger-level victories across various tiers (3k, 9k, 12k, and 15k). Her dominance was underscored by a remarkable 29-match winning streak.

A notable highlight was her victory at the Indian Open (15k-level) in Mumbai, where she overcame veteran Joshna Chinappa en route to the title.

In January, she secured the Under-17 title at the British Junior Open and played a key role in India’s bronze medal win at the Asian Junior Team Championships in Hong Kong, China.

Anahat has won several medals at continental and global events including two bronze at the 2022 Asian Games (team and doubles), two gold (mixed and women’s doubles) at 2025 Asian Championships, three singles gold at Asian Junior Championships (2022, 2023, 2025) and more.