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The highest world ranked squash player in India, Dipika Pallikal is not part of the national team for the World Women’s Team Championship to be held in Canada from December 1 to 6. The ace player has decided to opt out and informed the National Coach Cyrus Poncha accordingly through emails.
Poncha had sought the availability of all those players who had served the national team with distinction in the Asian Games for the World championship selection trials. Accordingly Joshna Chinappa, Anaka Alankamony and Aparajitha Balamurukan responded with acceptance emails but Dipika remained silent.
Efforts were then made to make her turn around. The national coach also brought to her notice the recent advice by the Ministry of Youth Affairs that any player on his or her own volition declining to be part of the team for events like the World Championship stood to lose all government funding. Dipika however stuck to her stand that she was keeping away.
In accordance with procedures, the selection committee, comprising of the national coach himself and Consultant Coach, Maj S. Maniam then picked the following team after a round of trials: Joshna Chinappa, Anaka Alankamony, Sachika Ingale and Harshit Kaur Jawanda.
Considering the high value-addition that Dipika could have brought to the team, her absence has come at an untimely moment when squash in the country has been looking up after a series of excellent performances at the international level. The Squash Racket Federation of India on its part made every effort to get the best set of players to do duty for the country. What has irked SRFI however has been the reported statements Dipika had made to a section of a media to the effect that she was unaware of the championship or the selection of the team.
SRFI clarifies that no effort was spared to bring Dipika around for being part of the national side and to claim, as she had reportedly done, that she was unaware of it all, is not only unfair but sidelining the truth.
