India defeated Canada 2-0 to finish ninth in the World Women's Team Squash Championship in Paris on Saturday.
The Indian squash contingent on Thursday assured its best ever showing at the Asian Games in Incheon by reaching the men's and women's team semi-finals, ensuring it returns home with medals in all four categories on offer.
In this exclusive tete-a-tete with Rediff.com's S. Saraswathi, Pallikal talks about her passion for squash, how coach Sarah Fitz-Gerald has contributed to her rise and her dream of being World No 1.
A round-up of Indian athletes' performances on Day 4 of the Asian Games, in Incheon, on Tuesday.
Ghosal and Pallikal hardly broke a sweat as they prevailed 11-8, 11-4 over the Australians
Indian men ended their campaign in the pistol events on a winning note by shooting down a silver medal in the 25m centre fire event even as the women's team exited from the 50m three-position competition without success at the Asian Games in Incheon on Friday.
India's ace woman squash player, Dipika Pallikal, will be skipping next month's World Team Championships in Canada. The reason: she does not know about the event!
'One of the things I have really learned from him is that if he doesn't do well, he is dropped from the team, it's just two or three days when he is in a lull, and then he is back on his feet, thinking about what to do next.'
India were, on Friday, assured of three medals in squash competition of the 18th Asian Games with Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik advancing to the semifinals of their respective singles events in Jakarta.
"I'm sure BCCI will sort this out," said Ganguly
In a body blow to India's medal prospects in the Commonwealth Games, key sports such as hockey, badminton, wrestling, cricket and shooting have been dropped from the 2026 edition by host city Glasgow, which unveiled a pruned roster of 10 disciplines to keep the event budget-friendly.
The Indian team blanked Wales and Germany 3-0 to make the grade.
Third seed India entered the World Junior Women's Squash Championships' team semi-finals after thrashing England 2-0 in Cairo, Egypt.
India capped off their impressive run in the Women's World Junior Team Squash Championship with a seventh-place finish, defeating New Zealand 2-1 in the classification match at the Hasta La Vista Club in Wroclaw, Poland.
The Indian duo of Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal stormed to the final of the squash mixed doubles event of the Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast on Friday.
DK is doing commentary for the cricket World Cup so he couldn't be in Hangzhou, but he didn't miss a moment of the action.
The Indian team advanced to the semi-finals of the World Junior Squash championships for the first time after stunning France 2-1 in Zurich on Tuesday. India will play second seeds Pakistan in the last four, while top seeds and defending champions Egypt take on England.
Tennis star Rohan Bopanna, who is set to be crowned world number one in the doubles format, was on Thursday selected for the prestigious Padma Shri honour by the government along with six other athletes including veteran squash player Joshna Chinappa.
'Big cricketers can win the World Cup but if a big player gets an opportunity to claim an Olympic medal they will definitely work towards'
Tennis ace Rohan Bopanna, hockey great P R Sreejesh and table tennis legend Sharath Kamal, are gearing up for one last hurrah at the Asian Games, starting in Hangzhou, from September 23.
Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Joshna Chinappa had to be content with bronze medals in women's singles after losing to their respective opponents in the semifinals of the 18th Asian Games, in Jakarta, on Saturday.
Top-seed Anahat Singh went down 2-3 to Egyptian second seed Nadien Elhammamy in the Girls' Under-17 category final.
Egged on by a capacity crowd at the Siri Fort Sports Complex, the fourth seed mixed doubles pair of Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa came out with a heartening performance to lead the Indian charge in the squash team events of the Commonwealth Games.
'In India we have a lot of superstar worship.' 'If we lose a match, but Tendulkar hits a century people are happy that their star did not let them down.' 'This should change. People should support the team and the sport and not individuals.'
Dipika Pallikal assured India of a maiden women's singles squash medal in the Asian Games, while top seed Saurav Ghosal confirmed his third successive podium finish in men's singles after the two reached the semi-finals of their respective events in Incheon on Sunday.
Check out who logged in to see the Mumbai-Bangalore game...
In an official communication to concerned national sports federations, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has informed them about about the staying arrangements and the need to undergo an RT-PCR test for COVID-19 72 hours prior to their arrival in the UK.
Each bottle of pickle that leaves FarmDidi, headed to a consumer, has a little kahani behind it -- it's linked to the tale of a life, the life of a simple, striving village woman who created it, and that's what gives Manjari Sharma satisfaction and happiness.
India's challenge in the squash team event at the Commonwealth Games came to an end after the fourth seeded pair of National champions Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa went down fighting to the Malaysian duo of Nicol David and Beng Hee Ong in the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles on Tuesday.
India badminton team have been accorded the top seed this time and are clubbed with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Scotland in Group A.
Jeremy stamps class on CWG debut, India climb to sixth in medal table
Senior players Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa lost their matches against Joey Chan and Annie Au, 1-3 and 0-3, respectively. Sunayna Kuruvilla, who is Pallikal's cousin, kept India in the hunt with a fighting win over Tze Lok Ho in the second singles.
'I think some of us, like Mukesh Ambani, myself and those of us who head industrial units, ought to really focus on what we can really do to make the world a safer place, maybe 50 or 100 years from now.' 'For instance, how can we deal with climate change and global warming, right now?' 'The effects of it may not be felt now; in fact, we may pay a price for it today, but it will help the generations to follow.'
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Dipika Pallikal's exclusion from the Indian team for Asian Squash Championships may have kicked up a storm, but national coach Cyrus Poncha said the British Junior Open champion has only herself to blame for the omission by refusing to attend a mandatory trial camp.
With the men's squash team clinching a silver medal after losing to Malaysia in the final, India ended their campaign at the 2nd Asian Youth Games in Nanjing at the 10th spot and with an impressive tally of 14 medals (3 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze).
14-year-old squash player Anahat Singh was too good for Jada Ross of St Vincent and the Grenadines in an 11-5, 11-2, 11-0 victory in the Round of 64 women's singles competition in Birmingham on Friday.
Anahat Singh seals berth for World Junior Squash C'ship after topping selection trials
Dinesh Karthik turned 34 on Saturday as wishes poured in for the cricketers from all quarters.
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