Anahat Singh's dream run ends against familiar foe in Silicon Valley Open

Anahat Singh lost 1-3 to Sivasangari Subramaniam in the Silicon Valley Open semi-final. Her maiden PSA Gold semi-final highlighted her growing stature against leading senior players.Anahat Singh lost to Malaysia's Sivasangari Subramaniam in the Silicon Valley Open semifinal (PTI File Photo)California,Oct 24, 2026 13:43 ISTIndia's Anahat Singh saw her dream run at the Silicon Valley Open come to an end in the semi-finals, losing 1-3 to Malaysia's Sivasangari Subramaniam in Redwood City, California, on Friday.The 18-year-old Indian, ranked World No. 15 and the reigning world junior champion, went down 11-5, 6-11, 4-11, 7-11 against the World No. 4 in a 37-minute contest. Anahat made a strong start, taking the opening game, but Sivasangari recovered to win the next three and book her place in the final.It was another frustrating defeat against a familiar opponent for Anahat, who had also lost to Sivasangari in the women's singles final at the Asian Games earlier this month. The Malaysian had won that contest 3-0, and Saturday's result marked Anahat's third defeat to her in as many meetings, according to PTI.However, the semi-final exit should not take away from what was a landmark campaign for the Indian teenager. Anahat reached her maiden semi-final at a Professional Squash Association (PSA) Gold-level event, becoming the first Indian woman since Joshna Chinappa in 2019 to reach the last four at this level. Her run included one of the biggest victories of her young career, a straight-games win over Egypt's eight-time world champion Nour El Sherbini. Anahat defeated the top seed and World No. 3 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 in 30 minutes to advance to the quarter-finals.She followed that up with a spirited comeback against Egypt's Salma Hany in the last eight. After falling behind twice, Anahat rallied to win 4-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-2, 11-5 in 42 minutes, showing the resilience that had marked her campaign in California.ANAHAT IS SO DANGEROUS: SIVASANGARI Sivasangari, meanwhile, acknowledged the threat posed by the young Indian, praising her talent and potential after their semi-final clash."Anahat is very talented and so dangerous," said Sivasangari, who had defeated Anahat 3-0 in the final of the women's singles at the Asian Games."She's definitely amongst the top girls now, and she's still so young. Coming into today's match, I started a bit slow but got myself back into it, and I'm glad with the way I finished it," she added, according to PTI.For Anahat, the result brings an end to a campaign that underlined her growing ability to compete with the world's leading players. Having recently won the world junior title and claimed silver at the Asian Games, the Indian teenager has continued to make significant strides on the senior circuit.While Sivasangari once again proved a difficult opponent to overcome, Anahat's breakthrough run in California offered further evidence of her potential to challenge the established name- Ends