Dipika Pallikal: All About India’s Squash Sensation!

Dipika Pallikal is an Indian international squash player who has played for the country in Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. A right-handed player, she holds the record of being the first Indian to enter the top 10 in PSA Women’s rankings, the world ranking in women’s squash.

Dipika also holds the distinction of being the first female squash player to receive the Arjuna Award. She has an active presence on social media platforms, with a whopping 5,44,000 followers on Instagram and 4,27,000 followers on Twitter.

Physical Stats

Dipika Pallikal Family

Dipika Pallikal was born on 21 September 1991 to Sanjiv Pallikal, a cricket player, and Susan Ittycheria, a former Indian cricketer. Dipika also has two sisters, Divya and Diya.

Relationships

Dipika and Dinesh Karthik, an Indian International cricketer met at a gym as they both used to get trained under the same coach. However, in the initial days, Dipika was not interested in Dinesh. Later, after speaking to him a couple of times, she slowly started liking the cricketer.

It was the beginning of a healthy relationship between the two. In 2013, Dinesh proposed to Dipika and got engaged in the same year. However, their marriage took place after two years in 2015, as both of them were busy with their hectic schedules.

It was Dinesh’s second marriage and he was earlier married to Nikita Vanjara, whom he divorced later.

 In October 2017, Dipika gave birth to twin baby boys, Kabir and Zian.

Dipika Pallikal Education

Dipika did her schooling at Good Shepherd Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chennai. Later she joined Ethiraj College for Women, Chennai, and completed her graduation in English literature.

Controversies

In May 2020, Dipika termed it as ‘frustrating’ while commenting on the decision of the authorities to omit squash from the list of additional sports that were considered for the Paris Olympics of 2024. According to the organizers, though squash was excluded, other games such as breakdancing, surfing, climbing, and skateboarding were included in the Olympics.

According to Dipika, she sees the omission of sports as a loss for the Olympics and not the other way around. She said that we have come to a point where all we could do is laugh.

Dipika didn’t mince her words and went on to say that some ridiculous sports have been included in the Olympics and if such games deserve to be part of the Olympics, squash also needs to be included. 

Dipika Pallikal Profession

Hailing from a sports background, Dipika used to be part of athletic competitions at school. Eventually, she turned to tennis and started getting trained under Mr.Baig.

However, within a year Dipika was introduced to squash by a friend who took her to a summer camp at the Indian squash academy. Her first stint in squash was under Hari Om Tripathy and because of her past experience in tennis, she had become quite good at handling a racket.

Deepika’s growth was pretty fast and she went on to win the national under-13 title. Later, she emerged as champion in the under-19 section of the India Cements junior national squash held in November 2008. In the international arena, the teenager made her mark by winning the British Junior Open Under-17 tournament.

In 2006, Dipika turned to professional squash. After attending training in Egypt in early 2011, Dipika was on a winning streak. The youngster went on to win three WISPA titles in 2011 including the Orange County Open in Irvine, California, a tour event in the United States, and the Crocodile Challenge Cup held in Hong Kong in December 2011.

In January 2012, Dipika managed to enter the finals of the Tournament of Champions squash meet in New York, thus becoming the first Indian to reach the summit clash of a Silver event.   

At the 2012 Women’s World Team Squash Championships, Dipika’s outstanding performance helped India secure a fifth position in the tournament. In the same year, in December, she achieved her career-best ranking of 10, thus becoming the first Indian to achieve that feat.

From 2012 to 2015, Dipika boycotted the National Squash Championships four times citing inequality in prize money for men and women as the reason. During those times, the prize money from women used to be just 40% of what men used to get.

Finally, Dipika won her battle and the authorities agreed to her demand for equal prize money for both genders. In the 2016 championship, Deepika beat Joshna Chinnappa and won the title for the second time.

The other major achievements in Dipika’s career include winning the women’s doubles gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games along with Joshna Chinappa and being part of the Indian women’s team that won gold at the 2016 South Asian Games.

Dipika Pallikal Net worth

As per sources, Dipika’s net worth in 2023 stands at $1.5 million. Apart from the income she earns from squash, Dipika also earns money by endorsing leading brands such as Adidas, Herbalife, Caratlane, and Naturals Salon.

Lesser Known Facts About Dipika Pallikal

• When Dipika joined college, her classmates recognized her immediately. Some of them even offered to share their notes as she would miss the classes as part of the travel for tournaments. 

• When Dipika underwent tennis training under Mr.Baig, Somdev Devvarman, the Indian tennis player used to practice there. 

• During the time of floods in Chennai, Dipika was participating in a tournament in Hong Kong. She wanted to do her bit and donated a part of her prize money to the flood victims.

• After winning the Asian Junior Championship in Colombo, Dipika didn’t touch her racket for a few days. She later said in an interview that the feeling is yet to sink in.

• Outside squash, Dipika admires Saina Nehwal, the Indian international badminton player. 

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