Dipika Pallikal Shines Bright: Wins Both Women's and Mixed Doubles Title
Dipika Pallikal Shines Bright: Wins Both Women's and Mixed Doubles Title
Leading Indian squash player Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal won the mixed doubles title at the Tri-Nation invitational tournament. Ghosal and Pallikal who also played singles in the professional tour outsmarted 2010 Commonwealth Games silver medalists Martin Knight and Joelle King to win the title. The Indians beat the New Zealand pair 9-11, 11-7 and 11-5.
Teams from hosts India, Malaysia and New Zealand also competed in the 3 day event. The win points to possible victories for singles and doubles category at the Glasgow Games commencing July 23. This is also a good indication for the Commonwealth Games. Ghosal shared how it was a “good couple of days” with leading media agencies.
Ghosal who is currently World No. 16 along with Harinder Pal Sandhu has won 3 out of 6 teams in the men's doubles. Dipika and Joshana Chinappa also fended off New Zealand players in the women's doubles.
Dipika struck gold for the second time when she and Chinappa faced Joelle and Amanda Landers Murphy in the women's doubles. Having fended off Malaysia's Nicol David and Low Wee Wern in the semifinals tournament. India had failed to win a medal at the New Delhi Games in the year 2010.
India has now gained its second title at the Tri-Nation squash doubles as Pallikal and Chinappa emerged the winners in the women's double final. They beat King and Murphy 8-11, 11-5,11-1 at the National Squash Centre.
This is Pallikal's second title following her victory with Ghosal. She discussed how the confidence had been boosted for the Commonwealth Games. Winning this game is a good test overall. Pallikal is currently World No. 10 and she is looking to notch it up on the ranking as more matches are around the corner.
Dipika is the first Indian woman to make it to the top 10 in the WSA (World Squash Association) rankings. She has also won the WISPA tour titles 3 times in a row in the year 2011. She was also the runner up at the Tournament of Champions in 2012.
Pallikal has reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2012. She has attained her sixth WSA title through a victory at the Meadowood Pharmacy Open in the month of February 2013.
Pallikal is the first lady squash player to be conferred with the Arjuna Award. This is the second highest sporting award in the year 2012. She was back in the top 10 in 2014 despite a hard start to the year. Pallikal has been coached by 6 time world champion Sarah Fitzgerald. With the right training and a world class coach, sky is the limit for this talented squash player.
