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Newsmakers of the Week                                                AUGUST 07, 2026      |  The Indian Eye 32




                         NEWSMAKERS OF THE WEEK




                   Selected stories about Indian diaspora from our website www.theindianeye.com



                                 AMISH SHAH                                                         ANAHAT SINGH

            IAI Congratulates Candidate for                                           Player wins squash junior

              Winning Democratic Primary                                                            world title



































                                                                            Ottawa (Canada):
                                                                               ndia’s Anahat Singh scripted history by becoming the country’s first squash
                                                                               player to win the junior world title after defeating Egypt’s Ruqayya Salem
                                                                            I3-0 in the girls’ singles final of the World Squash Junior Championships
        Phoenix, AZ:                                                        2026 here on Saturday.
        I  ndian American Impact proudly congratulates Dr. Amish Shah on his vic-  lem 11-3, 11-7, 11-9 to claim the historic title and surpass Joshna Chinappa’s
                                                                                The top-seeded Anahat, India’s No. 1 player, overcame second seed Sa-
           tory in the Democratic primary for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District.
               Chintan Patel, Executive Director of Indian American Impact, re-
                                                                            junior world championships for more than two decades, according to Olym-
        leased the following statement:                                     runner-up finish in 2005, which had remained India’s best performance at the
            “Amish Shah built a campaign from the ground up and won. He person-  pics.com.
        ally talked to thousands of voters across this district, voters hungry for change   The 18-year-old was in complete control throughout the final and capped
        who refuse to accept the status quo, and that’s what carried him to victory   a dominant campaign in which she dropped just two games across six matches.
        tonight. He’s spent his career fighting for the issues that matter most to work-  Anahat began her campaign with a straight-games win over Australian
        ing families: lowering costs, defending immigrant rights, and standing up to   qualifier Lilly Wilson before defeating Hong Kong China’s Pui Yin Chloe Lo
        extremism, and if elected he’ll make history as the first South Asian American   and Malaysia’s Doyce Ye San Lee to reach the quarterfinals.
        to represent Arizona in Congress.                                       She then overcame Egypt’s Habiba Rizk 3-1 (11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 11-9) in the
            Indian American Impact was proud to support him in this primary, and   quarterfinals before defeating another Egyptian, Barb Sameh, 3-1 (11-3, 8-11,
        we look forward to doing everything in our power to get him across the finish   11-4, 11-6) in the semifinals, according to Olympics.com.
        line in November. Flipping AZ-01 is critical to Democrats retaking the House   The victory over Salem in the final also brought an end to Egypt’s dom-
        majority, and Amish Shah is the candidate who can get it done.”     inance in the junior girls’ world championship, with Egyptian players having
            Impact invested $250,000 in the race, one of the top flip opportunities   held the title since 2011.
        in the country for Democrats working to retake the U.S. House majority this   Anahat had ended India’s 15-year wait for an individual medal at the ju-
        November. If elected, Shah would become the first South Asian American to   nior world championships last year, winning bronze in Cairo. This time, she
        represent Arizona in Congress.                                      went one step further to secure the gold.
            Since its inception in 2016, Indian American Impact has endorsed and   The draw also opened up for Anahat with four-time champion Amina
        supported 200+ candidates across the country, contributing to the historic   Orfi of Egypt no longer eligible to compete in the junior event, according to
        rise of Indian and South Asian American representation in politics. Through   Olympics.com.
        strategic investments and grassroots organizing, Impact has marshaled up-  Anahat was the only Indian player to progress deep into the girls’ singles
        wards of $20 million to candidates and robust voter mobilization and policy   draw. Rudra Singh, Anika Dubey and Saanvi Kalanki were eliminated in the
        advocacy efforts, amplifying the voices of South Asian Americans and driving   round of 32.
        positive change in communities nationwide.                                                                   Continued on next page... >>


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