Indian national squash champion Dipika Pallikal overcame a dangerous opponent to qualify for the main draw of the $70,000 China Open in Shanghai on Wednesday. The World No.19 rebounded from losing the second game to post an 11-4, 2-11, 11-0, 11-4 victory over the 27th ranked Olivia Blatchford in 31 minutes.
The American had inflicted a narrow, five-game defeat the last time they met in the first round of the Netsuite Open in September. It goes without saying that Dipika was more careful this time and even after being outplayed in the second game, she came back in style to grab the win.
Pallikal has a tough task up next. She has been drawn to meet the two-time World Junior Championships winner and the reigning Hong Kong Open champion Nouran Gohar of Egypt in the first round of the main draw. The third seed, aged only 18, has been consistently putting up mature performances in a few tournaments now that is way beyond her age.
A runner-up at this event last year, the World No. 5 has come into the 2016 China Open, riding high on confidence. At Hong Kong last week, she ended the historic 58-match winning streak of the legendary 11-time champion Nicol David in the semi-finals, en route to earning her maiden World Series title.
Gohar will surely be a tough nut to crack but Dipika too has been in great form and opened the new PSA season by reaching back-to-back finals at the Victorian Open and the Australian Open, winning the latter.
Pallikal and Chinappa placed in opposite halves of the draw
With Pallikal being in the bottom half of the draw, it also prevents an early clash between her and the other Indian squash queen, Joshna Chinappa. The World No. 12 is in the top half of the draw and she is now scheduled to face Egyptian qualifier Heba El Torky. The road gets even steeper for Chinappa from thereon as her potential quarter-final opponent is the top seed and World No.2 Laura Massaro.
The 11-time men’s national champion Saurav Ghosal is the third Indian playing at the China Open. He starts his campaign against the fourth seed Miguel Rodriguez of Colombia.
