When it comes to sports in India, we immediately think of cricket, tennis, boxing, athletic and even football these days. But there is hardly someone who speaks about squash as a sport played by Indians. Although the sport has got international recognition, its players still struggle to find the limelight and exposure they deserve. And one such squash player who has been making India proud time and again is Dipika Pallikal Karthik.
Born in a family of sportspersons from Chennai, Dipika started playing squash at a very tender age, however, she became a professional in 2006. But it took her years before she became a squash champion. She reportedly bagged her first of three Women’s International Squash Players Association (WISPA) title in September 2011 by winning the Orange County Open in Irvine, California. And began her journey to success.
Dipika who is now an integral part of the Indian squash team was the first Indian Female Squash player to be awarded the Arjuna Award in 2012 and Padma Shri in 2014. In December 2012, the squash champion became the top 10 in the Women’s Squash Association (WSA) rankings. She is also among the top ten Indian female squash players as of September 2019.
She also reportedly won the doubles gold medal in 2014 Commonwealth Games with her partner Joshna Chinappa which was India’s first-ever Commonwealth Games medal in the sport. Dipika also won two medals in squash women’s singles at the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta. She is married to Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik.
Even Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli is inspired by Dipika Pallikal. Former Indian team trainer Shankar Basu has earlier revealed that star squash player and Dinesh Karthik’s wife Dipika Pallikal is Kohli’s inspiration to train harder. Basu said to Times now, “The first two-three years, we used to train only in the summer during IPL. Actually, he got inspired after seeing Dipika Pallikal (squash player) train. He was astonished to learn about the demands of an individual sport. Then he said ‘why can’t I do the same’.”
Dipika had also earlier expressed her concern over the ‘terrible’ state of the sport in India. Talking to The Hindu she said, “If you want to try and take squash forward in the country, the first rule is to have a coach. It’s just bizarre to head to the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games without a coach. It’s just disheartening to see what is happening to Indian squash.”
She further added, “After Joshna and myself there is no one. How are you going to fill the No. 3, 4, 5 spots? If things continue like this, in five-six years we will not have any players. It is scary to see where squash will be in the next few years.” The squash star is currently taking a break from the game.