#MeetTheMedalist: All you need to know about Dipika Pallikal
India's squash player, Dipika Pallikal had to settle for a bronze medal at the Asian Games 2018, being held in Indonesia. Dipika lost her semis battle against Nicol David of Malaysia, who is also the defending champion. Pallikal lost the encounter 0-3 (7-11, 9-11, 6-11) against the world number one player. Here is more about the life of Dipika.
Dipika had earlier lost against David in 2014 Games
Dipika had won the bronze medal in the 2014 edition of the Asian Games as well. Interestingly, back then, she had lost against the same opponent. With no third-place battle in squash, both losing semi-finalists get bronze medals. India's Joshna Chinappa won the other bronze medal after her loss against 19-year-old Sivasangari Subramaniam of Malaysia.
Early life and background of Pallikal
Dipika was born on September 21, 1991 in Chennai. She played her first international tournament in London when she was in the sixth grade. Her mother is a former Indian cricketer. She turned professional in 2006 and in December 2012, she entered the top 10 rankings for the first time. She was conferred with the Arjuna award that year.
A look at Dipika's career stats
In 2014, she won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in squash doubles event along with Chinappa. It was the first time that India had won the gold in this event. This year at the CWG, she won a silver in women's doubles and a silver in mixed doubles categories. She is currently ranked 19th in the world.
Dipika is married to Dinesh Karthik
She got engaged to Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik on November 15, 2013. In 2015, the duo got married as per both Christian and Hindu ceremonies.
