Anahat Singh ‘looks like a shrimp, but moves like a lion’, says her coach Stephane Galifi

The Italian coach said that his aim is to take the 15-year-old to top-40 or top-30 so that she can play big tournaments and compete with the best.

Anahat Singh with her coach Stephane Galifi at the 79th National squash championships in the Indian Squash & Triathlon Academy (ISTA). | Photo Credit: S. Prasanna Venkatesan

 

Anahat Singh’s coach Stephane Galifi on Tuesday said he would “like for her to be in the top-40” in the PSA World rankings in “six to seven months.”

“Trying to get her ranking to top-40 or top-30 so that she can play big tournaments and compete with the best, that’s my goal,” he said at the 79th National squash championships here.

A former squash player himself, the Italian said “she can be the World champion,” and get into the top-10 in the World rankings in around “two years.”

“The first time I met her, I just knew. When you’ve played for as long as I have, you can see who’s gonna be good. And she has that.

“The thing is that she’s 15 years old. So, she’s still limited. I would like her to be a little bit more active, take more volleys. She has to improve her fitness.”

He said he’s been working on her movement and that she’s gotten a “little faster.” He added that her forecourt game has also improved.

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On her outstanding aspects, he said: “I will say she has one of the best backhands I’ve ever seen in women’s squash. Her backhand is just amazing.

“She has a quick eye. She thinks so fast. That’s a gift. She sees the game, she understands the game. She understands it so fast that she can quickly read the game of her opponent. She’s seeing, before you play, she knows what you gonna do. She has that eye. That eye is very important. That’s why, she looks like a shrimp, but moves like a lion!”

Anahat, who has also been discovering her doubles game and recently clinched the mixed doubles bronze with Abhay Singh in the Hangzhou Asian Games, gave credit to her doubles partner for performance. 

“I think it was one of my first major tournaments playing doubles and it’s very different to how singles is. So, it does take a lot of time to adapt. I think he (Abhay) has just been really helpful in explaining the game to me and making me understand how to play.”, said the Delhi-born squash player.

“After the Asian Games, I think I’ve understood quite a lot of it,” added Anahat.