Timeline of Dinesh Karthik and Dipika Pallikal's love story

The pair attended fitness sessions under the same coach

Dinesh Karthik and Deepika Pallikal got married in a Christian ceremony on August 18Indian wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik and the nation’s top-ranked squash player Dipika Pallikal tied the knot in the first of their two wedding ceremonies on August 18. Dipika belongs to a Christain family and a ceremony as per the religion’s traditions was held in Chennai yesterday, with only close friends and family members of the couple in attendance.The second half of the wedding, a Hindu ceremony will be held, yet again in the Tamil Nadu capital city, on August 20 which will officially confirm the sporty couple’s status as husband & wife.The couple are undoubtedly India’s trending sporting pair at the moment. Both have represented India in professional sports at the highest level and as the couple are about to begin their life together, we trace back the couple’s love story which dates back to five years.

#1 The first meeting

The pair attended fitness sessions under the same coach

No, it was not first at love sight.

And contrary to popular reports that the couple had first met in 2013, Dipika has clarified that they had run into each other much before that.

"The first time we met was at a marathon some five years ago," Dipika said, as reported by The Deccan Herald. "After that, we met at the gym and, if I remember, I left for practice without even saying bye to him."

Dipika and Karthik attended fitness sessions under the same coach, Basu Shankar, and quickly developed a good friendship, but she clarified that there was nothing more to it at the time.

“Slowly we got to know each other at the gym, but there was nothing more, contrary to what most media reports seem to suggest," she said.

#2 The moment Dipika fell for Karthik

Dipika Pallikal Squash.
Karthik flew into England to meet Pallikal a week after she had won the Meadowood Pharmacy Open in Canada

The moment that Karthik truly got into Dipika’s heart happened in February 2013. Dipika was in Leeds, England undergoing training, a week after she had won the Meadowood Pharmacy Open in Canada when she had an unexpected visitor.

Dinesh Karthik was playing domestic cricket in India at the time and on the back of a bitter divorce with his childhood sweetheart Nikita, had vowed to focus solely on cricket for the time being. But the Cupid in him had other ideas.

Here’s Dipika recalling the incident in her own words: “I went to Leeds to train for a week and I found him there, coming all the way to see me. That was when I fell for him, realising not many would do something like that.”

Karthik was also able to impress his future wife by trying his hand at squash.

“He used to watch me train at the academy and even tried his hand at squash. He played much better than I thought," she quipped.

#3 Love blossoms

Dinesh Karthik cricket
Karthik proposed marriage to Dipika after the victorious ICC Champions Trophy in June 2013

Things went pretty fast after that as the duo began to be spotted at each other’s sporting events on a number of occasions.

Despite her dislike for cricket, Dipika started making appearances at IPL matches, though not making it too obvious, understandably keeping it a low key affair.

She was also spotted at the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy where Karthik was part of the victorious Indian team. Basking in the glory of that triumph, Karthik proposed marriage to Pallikal in June 2013 and the couple got formally engaged five months later.

"I agree things have moved really fast, but it has happened for our good. Both of us have busy careers ahead and we wanted to formalise our relationship with the engagement,” Dipika said at the time.

#4 The engagement

Dipika Pallikal Dinesh Karthik Engagement
Karthik & Dipika’s Hindu engagement photo

Karthik and Dipika got officially engaged on November 15, 2013 at the ITC Grand Chola Hotel, Chennai in a private function which was attended only by close family and friends. Similar to the wedding ceremonies, they held two engagements – one in accordance with Christian traditions and another Hindu ceremony.

Dipika Karthik Engagement 2
The couple’s Christian engagement photo

While Dipika wore a traditional red saree for the Hindu engagement, she wore a cream coloured saree designed by Ritu Kumar for the Christian ceremony. Dinesh Kartik wore a blue Nehru jacket on a traditional cream kurta, and a white pajama for both ceremonies.

#5 The long wait

Dipika Pallikal Commonwealth Games
Karthik was in attendance as Pallikal clinched gold at the Commonwealth Games partnering Joshana Chinappa

The couple would have tied the knot earlier if not for Dipika’s international commitments in 2014.

"We are looking at mid-2015. Next year is not possible as I have got four big events lined up, including the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games while Dinesh remains occupied with cricket,” Dipika said. “We both love what we do professionally and want to achieve our goals."

Karthik provided constant support to Dipika in her endeavours as he strongly supported his fiance’s threat to pull out of the Asian Games as she was not happy with the draw. He was by her side on the happier occasions as well when he went to Glasgow and saw Dipika clinch the gold at the Commonwealth games in the squash doubles event.

Dipika was also spotted at the IPL cheering Karthik when he played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore side.

Dipika Pallikal Anushka Sharma IPL
Anushka Sharma and Dipika Pallikal seen cheering for their partners during the IPL

#6 The wedding (The first innings)

Dinesh Karthik Dipika Pallikal Christian wedding
Karthik and Pallikal got married at a church in Chennai on August 18

The long wait finally came to an end yesterday night as the couple got married in a Christian wedding ceremony held at a church in Chennai. The bride wore a white gown for the Christian wedding which she had bought from the USA along with Swarovski crystals while Karthik sported a black tuxedo for the occasion.

Dipika had geared up for the big night by hosting a bachelorette party over the weekend where only 15 of her closest friends were invited. The colour code for the night, which concluded with a mehndi ceremony was pink, Dipika’s favourite colour and it fitted in well, the party being an all-girl affair.

For the Hindu wedding, Dipika will wear a traditional yellow saree from the same designer and will have a mehndi and sangeet ceremony before the actual ceremony gets underway.

#7 What the couple has to say about each other

Dipika Pallikal Dinesh Karthik

Dipika has often talked about her dislike for cricket as she feels the game has affected the development of other sports in the country. She was also in the news recently as she skipped the squash nationals in June calling for equal pay for men and women. So what impresses Pallikal most about Karthik?

“Frankly, I like him because he is grounded and a homely guy,” she says before quipping: “I can't help if he happens to be a cricketer. It is a funny feeling now. Our common friends pull my leg for my known dislike for cricketers.”

As for the cricketer’s opinion on her: “She is very simple and elegant. And we complement and understand each other very well.”

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Edited by Staff Editor