Dipika Pallikal: More than just the girl next door

22 years old, born in Chennai, studying language in a college nearby – this is a description of the average girl-next-door in India. Add to that 7 WISPA tour titles, 5 tour finals, a career-best rank of 10 in the world, and an Arjuna award and you have something special.

Meet Dipika Pallikal, the Indian squash sensation who has single-handedly put Indian women’s squash on the world map. Born on September 21st 1991 in Chennai, India, Dipika started very young and played her first tournament on the professional circuit when she was all but 12 years of age. Her coach, probably the most famous women’s squash player in history, Sarah-Fitzgerald, has been a key presence in the rise of Dipika to the top levels of success in women’s squash.

In an era dominated by World Number 1 Nicol David, arguably the best-ever women’s squash player in history, Dipika has significantly made her mark on the world scene. She turned pro in 2006, and at first had a tough time adjusting to the rigors of World squash.This erratic set of performances continued until the end of 2010.

Still only 19 years of age, and 4 years into professional squash, she decided to take up a training stint in Egypt which turned out to be a defining moment in her career. What followed was simply magical for every squash lover to watch and admire. She racked up 3 WISPA tour titles in 2011 and rose to number 17 in the world rankings. This was not the biggest achievement of her career. At the year-ending World Open, she surprised everyone with her performance and finished in the top 8 of the competition, which sky-rocketed her stock in world squash.

Her string of consistent performances continued in 2012, when she finished runner-up in the Tournament Of Champions, and as a semifinalist in the Australian Open. She started 2013 by winning the Meadowood Pharmacy Open. Her string of good performances in the past two years have brought her acclaim from all corners of the game.

Her consistency in the game has helped her national side as well. Her string of amazing performances meant India finished fifth in the Women’s World Team Championships in 2012, ranked as tenth at the starting of the tournament, and beating higher ranked opponents like the Netherlands and Ireland on the way.

In 2012, she was also felicitated with the Arjuna award, which is the second highest honor to be bestowed on a sportsperson in India. Given her ferocious talent and extremely good looks, she has significantly improved the state of squash in India, and has promoted youngsters to take up the sport in the country.

She currently trains at the Indian Squash Academy under National coach Cyrus Poncha, but attributes most of her success to her long-time coach Sarah. At just 22 years of age, she has a long way to go in the sport, and with most of the top ranked players reaching the peak of their careers right now, Dipika stands a great chance at ruling the world of squash in the years to come.