India’s Anahat Singh defeated Egypt’s Nour ElSherbini 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 in 30 minutes at the Silicon Valley Open in Redwood City, California, on Wednesday, advancing to the quarter-finals of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Gold event.
ElSherbini, an eight-time world champion and former world number one, was the top seed in the women’s draw. Singh’s straight-games win sent the Egyptian out of the tournament and gave the Indian one of the biggest victories of her professional career.
Singh maintained her advantage throughout the match, taking each game by three points or more. She denied ElSherbini the chance to extend the contest and completed the win in half an hour.
The result followed another straight-games victory for Singh in the opening round, where she beat Egypt’s Nour Aboulmakarim 11-8, 11-8, 12-10. The consecutive wins carried her into the last eight of the tournament, which runs from 20 to 24 October and offers equal prize money in the men’s and women’s draws.
The 18-year-old has become one of India’s leading young squash players, competing on the international circuit against experienced senior opponents. Her progress also comes as Indian squash seeks to build on recent results and challenge the depth of competition from countries such as Egypt, which has long been a major force in the sport.
Singh is scheduled to face Egypt’s Salma Hany in the quarter-finals on Thursday. The match gives her another opportunity to test herself against a higher-ranked international opponent as she seeks to continue her run in California.
