Sensation: Pune's Anika Dubey Is Fast Emerging As The Next Young Achiever In Indian Squash

Indian squash has a new, up and coming sensation and the name is Anika Dubey, who recently won the National Junior U-19 title at just 15 years of age.

The Pune girl has been making waves this year and the U-19 National junior crown was her fourth consecutive national crown. She has also won bronze medals at the Asian junior championships this year in U-17 (Individual) and U-19 (Team) categories and competed at the World junior squash championships in Cairo as well.

Anika spoke exclusively to The Free Press Journal while her coach Abhinav Sinha, founder of SportsSkill under which he runs the athlete development program Chance2Sports that supports Anika, also shared his thoughts in a free-wheeling interview.

Excerpts..

-- Anika, congratulations on winning the National junior U-19 squash title recently. How was the experience and what have your learnings been?..

It was a really unique experience, because I got to play with players older than me. I was a little nervous initially, but mostly I found it very exciting. My biggest takeaway would be that I should always take risks going forward. Because initially I was going to play save abd play my own category, but I'm glad I took the risk.

-- Who is the toughest player you have competed against?..

Till date I think the Egyptians I played during world juniors this year would be the toughest players I have competed with.

-- Have you played against Anahat Singh yet?.. She is the current sensation in Indian squash and young just like you.

No, I have not yet played her

-- How did you take to squash and at what age?..

I started playing squash when I was 7 years old, in the court near where I lived, initially it was a hobby and I used to do a few other hobbies. But at 11 I decided to take it more seriously and I started training and competing more.

-- When did coach Abhinav Sinha find you and how much of an influence has he been?..

I've been training with Abhinav sir since 2021, so around 4-5 years. I think he has really helped me work on my technique and the tactical side of my game.

-- What are your upcoming events and what plans for the future?

I'm playing two events, one in Indore from the 18th of November, and one in Chennai in December first week. Both are women's PSA tournaments with a lot of international players coming so it should be exciting.

-- Do you have a dream or aim regarding what you want to achieve in squash?..

Right now I want to focus on improving and playing well on the world junior level. I want to take it one step at a time.

Coach Abhinav Sinha's thoughts

The good thing that I noticed about Anika early on was that whenever I would teach her something she would be able to replicate and implement that. She learns quickly and that's the good thing about her. She sends her videos sometimes and we try and work on her technique. I'm happy that the virtual method has worked for her so far.

We do have an offline interaction every two weeks, so that way it works out fine. She's a quick learner and improvisation works fine for her.

Anika's achievements in 2025

Bronze: Asian Junior Championships (U-17, Individual)

Bronze: Asian Junior Championships (U-19, Team)

Participation at World Junior Championships

National Junior Champion (U-19)

4: Consecutive National titles