Picture Credit: IPL/Twitter
Less than six months after giving birth to twins, 30-year-old Dipika Pallikal clinched pair of historic victories as she won the mixed doubles and women's doubles titles at World Doubles Championships. Dipika, who has been playing the competitive game since October 2018, teamed up with Saurav Ghosal and longtime teammate Joshna Chinappa to win respective titles.
The pair of Dipika and Saurva win the mixed doubles 11-6, 11-8 over England's Adrian Waller and Alison Waters. An hour and a half later, Dipika teamed up with Joshna to lift the women's doubles title after a close encounter against England's Sarah Jane Perry and Waters. After registering a historic return to the game, Dipika said, "Just happy to be back on the court. I trained hard for this comeback. I was a bit less confidence at the start of the tournament but got better as I played more matches.," she said. Dipika also informed that performance in World Doubles Championships is the best preparation for Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. "CWG and Asian Game are my main target, and now I need the aspects where I need to improve more," she added.
Dipika also informed that many people doubted her as she was making a comeback after long three years, but the kind of result she has pulled has shut down her critics and boosted her confidence. "There were people who felt I won't be able to do this (after motherhood), but I was never in doubt," she concluded. Dipika's fantastic performance with her partners has left everyone in awe as she has become a role model for many. Notably, her husband, cricketer Dinesh Karthik, is lighting the IPL 2022 with his power batting. Fans took to Twitter to send congratulations to Dipika and also called the couple, 'inspiring'.