Mumbai: Two Indian freshers at the PSA World Championships entered one of squash’s most prestigious tournaments eager to soak in the experience. Both walked away from their first outing knocking out two world No.28s.
Anahat Singh, ranked 62, and Veer Chotrani, ranked 57, had debuts to cherish as they upset American Marina Stefanoni and Englishman Declan James, respectively, to advance to the second round.
Two more Indians joined them from the five in Chicago, with world No.38 Abhay Singh overcoming world No.25 Nicolas Mueller of Switzerland and India’s top-ranked Ramit Tandon getting past Japanese Ryunosuke Tsukue. Velavan Senthilkumar, another debutant, also had a bright start against defending champion and world No.3 Diego Elias before losing in four games (11-7, 7-11, 5-11, 3-11).
Chotrani was nearly stretched to a deciding fifth game, with former world No.15 and 2022 Commonwealth Games doubles gold medallist James saving four match points. At the fifth time of asking, the Indian came through 11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 16-14.
Mumbai’s Chotrani, whose father Manish is a former national squash champion, graduated from Cornell University. The 23-year-old has had a steady rise in the world rankings from being outside the top 100 last year.
Like Anahat, Chotrani earned a spot at the Worlds by winning the Asian qualifying event last month. Catching up during training in New York before flying to Chicago, experienced compatriot Tandon told the male Indian debutants to turn up with a free mind for their first Worlds gig.
For Chotrani that played a big role, as did the belief.
“Last week I didn’t have that belief that I could win against the top 20-25 guys. Today I just went into the match telling myself that I have nothing to lose, (to) play freely without any pressure and enjoy it,” Chotrani told PSA after the win.
Anahat, 17, was two games to one down against the 22-year-old American, who is higher ranked and also more experienced. The Indian teen though kept her composure and turned things around for the 3-2 (10-12, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 11-6) victory.
This is the first real taste of the highest level of professional squash for Anahat, who’s had a bright junior career and a dominant run at the lower rung PSA events. The youngster, hardly surprisingly, was “exhausted” after the tussle that lasted nearly an hour.
“We had really long rallies and she’s a great player. I’ve seen her play in the last few tournaments. She’s been playing really well and she’s broken into the top 30, so I knew it was going to be a battle,” Anahat told PSA. “I’m really happy I was able to get through it.”
Also getting through for his first win at the Worlds was Abhay, who brushed off a second-game blip against the 22nd seed Mueller to win 3-1 (11-7, 2-11, 11-7, 11-6). The 26-year-old, who has broken into the top 50 this year and sits at a career-high world No.38, had lost in the opening round of the 2023 Worlds and sat out injured last year.
India No.1 and world No.34 Tandon overcame a slow start against the tricky Tsukue, ranked 50, in his 3-1 (10-12, 11-7, 13-11, 11-7) opening win.
The road will get much steeper for the Indians after the fine start. Tandon faces world No.7 Marwan Elshorbagy in the Round of 32, while Abhay will take on 13th-ranked Egyptian Youssef Ibrahim. Anahat plays fellow teen Fayrouz Aboelkheir of Egypt, ranked 15th. Chotrani will front up with four-time champion and top seeded Egyptian Ali Farag.
“It doesn’t get bigger,” Chotrani said.
