She has seen many seasons of success, but the thumping double crown at the WSF World Doubles Squash Championships must rank very high in Dipika Pallikal’s storied athletic career.
Away from professional squash for nearly four years, Dipika made a thundering return to competition. Her successful campaign at Glasgow with Saurav Ghosal & Joshna Chinappa sets the tone for Indian squash as the leading lights prepare to mint some metal at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games later this year.
Dipika’s comeback is even more remarkable, considering that she gave birth to twins in October last year. The twins are too young to realise, but six months after their arrival, Dipika Pallikal Karthik played stellar squash all week to present them with a glittering pair of gifts.
Her success this past week reminds us of her tenacity and character. Dipika worked her way back from the demanding challenges of motherhood and unspeakable physical exertion. It took her many months of preparation - carefully organized training and recovery to allow the athlete in her to regain the skills, stamina and mental strength needed to compete at the highest level.
With Sourav Ghosal in the mixed, she defeated Alison Waters and Adrian Waller 11-6, 11-8. The 30-year-old was back on court in less than an hour for an even more important match.
In the women’s doubles Championship match, Dipika joined Joshna Chinappa to outlast Sarah-Jane Perry and Waters 11-9, 4-11, 11-8 for the WSF World Doubles Squash Championships title. It was an incredible return for a woman, who stepped away from the game in 2018, while still ranked inside the top 20.
A thriving interior design business in Bengaluru and the addition of twin children to the family were just some of the things that Dipika packed into that time away from the game.
And she warned us too. In a promotion with Adidas on Instagram, Dipika shared pictures of her working out last month, making a statement for women. “My name is Dipika Pallikal Karthik, and when I step on the court, I play for all women,” she posted. In Glasgow this week, not only did she play, but she also won. Not once, but twice.
Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal celebrate after defeating England 2-0 in the mixed doubles finals of 2022 WSF World Doubles Squash Championships, in Glasgow, Scotland
Image: PTI
Her success this past week reminds us of her tenacity and character. Dipika worked her way back from the demanding challenges of motherhood and unspeakable physical exertion. It took her many months of preparation, carefully organized preparation and recovery to allow the athlete to regain the skills, stamina and mental strength needed to compete at the highest level.
With Sourav Ghosal in the mixed, she defeated Alison Waters and Adrian Waller 11-6, 11-8. The 30-year-old was back on court in less than an hour for an even more important match.
In the women’s doubles Championship match, Dipika joined Joshna Chinappa to outlast Sarah-Jane Perry and Waters 11-9, 4-11, 11-8 for the WSF World Doubles Squash Championships title. It was an incredible return for a woman, who stepped away from the game in 2018, while still ranked inside the top 20.
A thriving interior design business in Bengaluru and the addition of twin children to the family were just some of the things that Dipika packed into that time away from the game.
And she warned us too. In a promotion with Adidas on Instagram, Dipika shared pictures of her working out last month, making a statement for women. “My name is Dipika Pallikal Karthik, and when I step on the court, I play for all women,” she posted. In Glasgow this week, not only did she play, but she also won. Not once, but twice.
In this fresh chapter, Dipika joins a long list of international women using sport as a medium to emphasise feminine power, their artistic brilliance, and professional acumen. As she pointed out just four weeks ago, this edition of the Dipika Express is an emphatic statement for the power of all women, not just athletes.
Through her own life of purpose, Dipika is reminding us that women are adept at sport, business and family. And that they can pull off all three with great success despite a society hungover in patriarchy and prejudice.
The epic return of Dipika to the world stage, accompanied by these duel Golden bells, add yet another chapter into the rich folklore of Indian women in sport. Sania Mirza is also enjoying a luminescent final flourish playing doubles on the WTA with Lucie Hradecka. She too is accompanied by her little bundle of joy, Izhaan Malik, as she enjoys a rousing season of success.
Sania has been an outspoken advocate for women, wasting no opportunity to make a point about life, success and the struggle. "I always tell mothers that you don't have to kill your dreams just because you have a baby. You must keep going after it and that doesn't make you a bad incapable mother," reminded Sania, on the sidelines of Wimbledon last year.
Dipika echoes those sentiments.
“It’s just been a long journey for me to be here. And I’m just very, very excited to be playing with Saurav and being with the whole Indian team. There’s a lot of gratitude from me just being here today,” exclaimed a delighted Dipika after winning the mixed Championship.
“The plan was to always come back [to squash]. But in between it didn’t really seem likely. I think I just had the right people with me, Saurav (also her brother-in-law) kept pushing me wherever he was in the world! And then obviously my husband, my in-laws, my parents, all just making me be back here and playing again.”
The last of those words should resonate and reach homes in India, floating like golden ripples into our hearts. Women can obviously achieve a lot, and they are more than ready for the challenges in their path. It is for men particularly, and families around them to stand in solidarity and work in harmony to power women and see them flourish in every sphere of life.
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