REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (Diya TV) — Indian squash star Anahat Singh has reached her first Professional Squash Association (PSA) Gold-level semifinal after defeating Egypt’s sixth-seeded Salma Hany at the Silicon Valley Open 2026 presented by Oracle NetSuite.

The 18-year-old produced another impressive comeback to win 4-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-2, 11-5 in a 42-minute quarterfinal. With this victory, Singh became the first Indian woman since Joshna Chinappa in 2019 to reach a Gold-level semifinal on the PSA Squash Tour.

Moreover, the teenager continued her remarkable run after recording the biggest win of her career a day earlier. She defeated eight-time world champion and former world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini in straight games to reach the quarterfinals.

Singh now faces another major test against Malaysia’s world No. 4 Sivasangari Subramaniam in Friday’s semifinal. The match offers the Indian youngster another chance to measure her progress against one of the sport’s leading players.

Singh faced an uphill battle against Hany, an experienced Egyptian player who entered the quarterfinal as the tournament’s sixth seed.

Hany started strongly and took the opening game 11-4. Singh responded by winning the second game 11-8, but the Egyptian regained control in the third, winning 11-4 to move within one game of victory.

However, Singh refused to give up. She raised her intensity in the fourth game and dominated Hany 11-2 to level the match at two games apiece.

The deciding game brought another strong performance from the Indian teenager. Singh maintained her attacking approach, controlled the rallies and closed out the game 11-5 to secure a place in the last four.

The victory highlighted her ability to recover under pressure. It also showed her growing confidence against higher-ranked opponents as she continues to establish herself on the international squash circuit.

After the match, Singh said she had never faced Hany before and did not know exactly what to expect.

“I didn’t start too well. The first game was 11-4, so it was a pretty bad start,” Singh said. “But I just wanted to find a way to come back into the match and give it a fight; whether I won or lost, I wanted to fight.”

She also praised Hany’s experience and said she had looked forward to testing herself against the Egyptian.

Singh’s semifinal appearance marks an important moment for Indian squash. She has become the first Indian woman to reach a PSA Gold-level semifinal since Chinappa achieved the feat in September 2019.

Chinappa reached the semifinals of the Oracle NetSuite Open in San Francisco after defeating New Zealand’s fourth-seeded Joelle King, who was ranked No. 6 in the world at the time.

Now, Singh has matched that milestone at the Silicon Valley Open, further strengthening her reputation as one of India’s most promising young squash players.

Her latest achievement also follows an outstanding quarterfinal qualification. By beating El Sherbini, Singh overcame an opponent with eight world championship titles and a former world No. 1 ranking.

Together, the two victories underline Singh’s ability to compete with established international stars. At just 18, she has already shown that she can handle the pressure of major PSA Tour matches.

Singh will next face Sivasangari Subramaniam, the world No. 4 from Malaysia, in a semifinal scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23.

The matchup carries added significance because the players recently met in the Asian Games gold-medal match. Subramaniam won that contest 3-0 in Japan last month.

Singh also lost 3-0 in their other recent meeting. Nevertheless, the Indian player hopes to make the semifinal more competitive and build on her strong performances in California.

“I’m just going to go into the match and try to do my best,” Singh said. “The first step is to try and compete as much as I possibly can and make it tough for her.”

She acknowledged that Subramaniam has played extremely well this season. However, Singh remains focused on carrying her momentum into the next round and testing herself against another top-ranked opponent.

The Silicon Valley Open 2026 semifinals begin Friday at 5:30 p.m. PDT. Fans can watch the matches live on SQUASHTV.

For Singh, the semifinal presents an opportunity to take another step forward in her young career. After defeating two experienced opponents, she will aim to maintain her form against Subramaniam.

Regardless of the result, her run in Redwood City has already delivered a career milestone and renewed attention on Indian women’s squash.