Birmingham, Jan 7 (IANS) Indian top seed Anahat Singh lost in four close games in the women’s Under-19 final at the prestigious British Junior Open squash, held at the University of Birmingham on Tuesday.

Anahat, ranked 29th in the world, was defeated in the final by French second seed Lauren Baltayan with scores of 9-11, 11-7, 3-11, 9-11. She was competing in her ninth BJO final across different age groups.

She advanced to her first women’s under-19 final at the prestigious squash tournament, winning her semifinal match 11-8, 11-7, 11-9 over Egypt’s Malika El Karaksy (3/4) in just 28 minutes.

Anahat defeated Malika in last year’s BJO U-17 final and the World Junior Championships quarterfinals, repeatedly targeting the front corners and turning those chances into winners, winning the match in straight games during the 100th anniversary edition of the tournament.

Before her semi-final clash, Anahat defeated Egypt’s Barb Sameh (5/8) with scores of 11-4, 10-12, 11-9, 11-3 to reach the final four. Earlier, she beat Malak El Maraghy (Egypt, 9/16) 11-3, 11-3, 11-6 in the last-16 and Hong Kong’s Wing Kai Gladys Ho 11-1, 11-3, 11-3 in the second round, after receiving a bye in the first round.

The Delhi player had a breakout year in 2025, reaching her highest world ranking of 28 in just her second season on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour and defeating two top-20 players. Recently, the top seed and world No. 29 narrowly defeated former world No. 10 Joshna Chinappa 11-8, 11-13, 11-13, 11-6, 11-8 in the final of the HCL Squash Indian Tour 4 at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai.

In November, Anahat demonstrated her skill by narrowly defeating the seasoned Chinappa 3-2 in a thrilling all-Indian women’s final at the Daly College SRFI Indian Open squash in Indore. As the top seed and then-ranked 33rd worldwide, Anahat triumphed in a 55-minute match with scores of 11-8, 11-13, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, earning her 13th PSA title.

–IANS

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