Indian Open: It turned out to be a night of celebrations for Indian squash fans with local favourites Abhay Singh and Anahat Singh winning the men’s and women’s titles respectively on the final day of the Indian Open 2026 at the CCI here on Sunday.The men’s title clash was an all-Indian battle with the second seeded Abhay overpowering his four seeded compatriot Veer Chotrani 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-4). Young sensation Anahat Singh blew away Hana Moataz of Egypt 3-1 (11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-6) in the women’s final.
Abhay was in superb form in the men’s final. Although Chotrani produced a spirited fight in the first two games, the second seed zoomed up a gear as the match progressed.
The opening game was a hard-fought battle with every point contested fiercely. Abhay Singh finally prevailed in the see-saw battle to take the opening game 11-9 and take the lead.
The second game followed a similar script with every point witnessing long rallies keeping the spectators hooked. However, Abhay managed to quell an intense challenge by his compatriot to win 11-8 and extend his lead.
Abhay cranked up the intensity in the third game with Chotrani finding it difficult to read his deceptive angles and powerful smashes. The second seed took the game 11-4 to win the match and the title.
On winning the Indian Open 2026, Abhay Singh (Indian #2) said, “I’m really happy to have won the tournament. Indian squash is very healthy right now with four men in the top 50, Anahat leading the charts in the Women’s World Champs. Obviously, the goal individually is the LA Olympics, but we all have a big year ahead and need to defend gold. As much as we’re competing against each other on tour, this year is also about coming together, pushing each other, and backing each other to win gold in Japan.”
Earlier, top seeded Anahat Singh of India came up with a sublime performance to outclass Hana Moataz of Egypt and clinch the women’s title.
Although the second seeded Egyptian was a much experienced contender, the younger Anahat was in a league all her own. The top seeded Indian came up with a lethal combination of deception and speedy cross-court movement to leave her second seeded opponent struggling to match her pace.
During the initial exchanges, both opponents were equally matched, matching each other blow. The first game saw the lead change hands after almost every other rally before the Indian rattled off six consecutive points to take it 11-5 and surge into the lead.
Anahat continued her dominance in the second game as well, building up a comfortable 5-1 lead in double quick time. Although Hana did her best to put up a strong fight, she failed to match up to the in-form India, who went on to win the second game 11-6 and double the lead.
Despite being outgunned during the first two games, Hana staged a spirited comeback in the third game, taking a tight 11-9 verdict to stay alive in the contest.
The Egyptian tried to slow down the rallies in an effort to counter her much faster Indian opponent while the difficult angles of her shots stood her in good stead.
The third game loss seemed to break Anahat’s rhythm with Hanna forcing the pace. The Egyptian raced into a 4-1 lead in the fourth game. To her credit, Anahat managed to pick herself up and fought back to claim the lead at 5-4 before winning five back-to-back points to win the game 11-6 and claim the title.
“I think it’s really amazing how Hana played. She was not well the past week, reached the finals after a tough full-hour match yesterday, and still came out and put on such a great performance. It’s amazing to see. I’m glad we were able to put on a good fight for the audience, and hopefully everyone had fun watching.”
Article Source: IANS
