There was talk in some quarters that Dipika Pallikal was chickening out of a clash with her senior compatriot Joshna Chinappa when news came out that the two were set to meet in the quarterfinals of the Asian Games here.
However, it was a happy ending for Dipika when she defeated Joshna in a five-game thriller and entered the women’s singles semifinals here on Sunday evening.
The win has assured Dipika, who celebrated her 23rd birthday today, a bronze, which will be the first by an Indian woman in singles at the Asian Games.
“Till the last minute, I wasn’t sure whether I was going to play. I had to deal with a lot of things before coming here…this was the only match I was concentrating on.
“And I’m glad, I won,” said Dipika, the world No. 12 and the third seed here, after her quarterfinal victory.
Despite working her way back after losing the first game, Dipika was painfully close to the rare bronze medal but the doors appeared to close every time she came near it. She had four match balls in the fourth game but she frittered them all away, frequently sending the ball down. But the hard work and the close match made the victory sweeter.
Saurav eyes gold
With Saurav Ghosal, the men’s top seed, also making it to the semifinals which should fetch him at least a bronze (both semifinalists are awarded bronze in squash) though he is aiming for the gold, India had a memorable day.
But all eyes were on Dipika.
Joshna, world No. 21 and seeded in the 5-8 bracket here, had won their last face-off in New York 3-0. But today, with the match getting tight, the two appeared to lose their cool a few times, even screaming at referees.
“We always scream at the referees. Today I think it was a little bit more because of the pressure, so it was fair on both the sides,” said Dipika who will now meet Malaysian world No. 1 Nicol David in the semifinals.
“The Asian Games is a very big platform. You come here once in four years so there was pressure, I think on both of us. I’m higher ranked than her, so we both were under pressure. And the match was a very long one.”
Saurav, meanwhile, defeated Pakistan’s Iqbal Nasir (ranked 5-8) but with the Indian being the top seed that was not surprising.
The results (Indians only, singles quarterfinals) : Men: Saurav Ghosal bt Iqbal Nasir (Pak) 11-6, 9-11, 11-2, 11-9. Women: Dipika Pallikal bt Joshna Chinnapa 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 15-17, 11-9.
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