Far away from the Rio Olympics 2016, Indian squash queen Dipika Pallikal is dominating the courts in Australia. The World No. 19 made it a memorable day by winning her illustrious career’s 11th PSA title at the $15, 000 Australian Open in Melbourne on Friday.
It wasn’t any easy affair as the top seed had to show her exceptional resilience to notch up a comeback 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 victory over the eighth-seeded Mayar Hany of Egypt. The 19-year-old has been a giant-killer at this tournament and accounted for the second seed Donna Urquhart in the semi-final on Thursday.
She continued with that same confidence in the final as she claimed the opening game over the higher-ranked Pallikal. But the Indian was determined not to let go of this opportunity after being on the losing side in the final of the Victorian Open last week where she narrowly went down in a nail-biting thriller.
Dipika fought back and showed why she was once ranked World No. 10. She took the next three games and closed out the win in 40 minutes. It has been a fantastic few weeks for the 24-year-old. Even at home, she dazzled on the squash courts to clinch the second National Squash Championships title of her career in July.
Next up: World Squash Doubles
She will next be seen in action at the World Squash Doubles which is scheduled to begin next week. She and Joshna Chinappa have been given the top seeding in women’s doubles while in mixed, she will be seen alongside Saurav Ghosal.
