Dipika Pallikal Karthik is an Indian professional squash player, model and entrepreneur. In December 2012, she became the first Indian female squash player to enter the top ten of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) women’s ranking. In the same year, she became the first female squash player to win the Arjuna Award, India’s second highest sports award.
Wiki/Biography
Dipika Rebecca Pallikal was born on Saturday, September 21, 1991, in Kottayam, Kerala, India (32 years old as of 2023). Her zodiac sign is Virgo. She attended Good Shepherd Matriculation High School in Chennai. In 2013, she received her BA (English Honors) from Ethiraj College for Women, Chennai. She started playing squash at the age of ten.
Eleven-year-old Dipika Pallikal (far right) and her coach (middle)
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′7″
Weight (approximately): 70kg
Hair color: brown
Eye color: black
Body measurements (approximately): 36-26-36
family
Dipika Pallikal belongs to a Malayan Christian family of “Syrian” origin.
Dipika Pallikal’s childhood photos (back)
Parents and siblings
Her father Sanjiv Pallikal is an entrepreneur.
Deepika Palikar and her father
Her mother, Susan Itticheria, is a former Indian cricketer.
Deepika Palikar and her parents
She has two sisters named Divya Pallikal and Dia Pallikal. Divya Pallikal is a chartered accountant and Dia Pallikal is a graphic designer.
Dipika Pallikal (far right) with her two sisters
husband and children
On August 18, 2015, Dipika Pallikal married Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik in a Christian ceremony at the Leela Palace Hotel in Chennai. . They got married again according to Hindu rituals on August 20, 2015, at the ITC Grand Chola in Chennai.
Dipika Pallikal and Dinesh Karthik on their wedding day
Dipika Pallikal on her wedding day
The couple has twin sons named Kabir and Zian, who were born on October 18, 2021.
Dipika Pallikal with her son and husband
Relationships/Affairs
She met her husband Dinesh Karthik at the ‘Chennai Marathon’ in 2008 but they became friends in 2013 when they trained together at ‘Maverick Gym’ in Chennai under the guidance of Shankar Basu. They fell in love while Deepika was on a fitness training trip in Leeds, England, where Dinesh reportedly went just to see her.
sign
Deepika Parrikar’s autograph
Profession
squash
Dipika Pallikal became a professional squash player in 2006 and faced some challenges at the beginning of her career. However, after a brief training period in Egypt in early 2011, she became more consistent and began winning titles. By the end of the year, she had won three WISPA titles, the first of which came at the Orange County Open in Irvine, California. Her second championship was in the United States and her third in Hong Kong, which helped her reach 17th in the world rankings. Thereafter, her performance at the World Open was recognized after she finished in the top eight. This took her to 14th in the world rankings in February 2012, surpassing the best ranking achieved by Indian squash player Misha Grewal in 1995. In January 2012, Dipika Pallikal created history by becoming the first Indian to reach the final of a silver medal event during the Squash Championship Tournament in New York.
Dipika Pallikal during the Champions Squash Championships in New York (2012)
Later that year, Dipika Pallikal reached the semi-finals of the gold medal event at the 2012 Australian Open, another first for an Indian. She also played an important role in the Indian squash team, which finished fifth at the 2012 Women’s World Team Squash Championship, beating higher-ranked teams from the Netherlands and Ireland.
Dipika Pallikal during the 2012 Women’s World Team Squash Championship
Dipika Pallikal won her sixth WSA title in February 2013. In 2014, she and Joshna Chinappa won the women’s doubles squash gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, India’s first squash medal at the event.
2014 CWG Gold Medalist Pallikal Karthik poses with Joshna Chinappa
In the same year, Deepika Parrikar won a team silver medal and a singles bronze medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. In January 2015, Dipika Pallikal won the Winter Club Open for her 10th Tour title. In 2016, she won a silver medal in mixed doubles and a bronze medal in doubles at the World Doubles Championships in Darwin. In 2017, she won a doubles bronze medal at the World Doubles Championships in Manchester. In the same year, Deepika Palikar won a silver medal in singles at the Asian Individual Championships in Chennai. In 2018, she won a silver medal in doubles and a silver medal in mixed doubles at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. In the same year, Deepika Palikar won a bronze medal in singles at the Asian Games in Jakarta.
Dipika Pallikal after winning bronze medal at Asian Games (2018)
Deepika Palikar then won the team bronze and mixed doubles gold at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. In 2022, she won the doubles gold medal and the mixed doubles gold medal at the World Doubles Championship in Glasgow. In August 2022, Deepika Parrikar won the mixed doubles bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
Dipika Pallikal wins bronze medal (Mixed Doubles) at Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK
In October 2023, during the Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China, Deepika Parrikar and Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu defeated the Malaysian team in the final of the mixed doubles competition and won the mixed doubles gold medal .
Palikar and Sandhu after winning the squash mixed doubles final during the Asian Games (2023)
National Squash Championship: Deepika Parrikar’s stand and victory
Despite her success, Dipika Pallikal refused to participate in the National Squash Championships between 2012 and 2015 due to unequal prize money. Previously, the prize money received by the women’s champion was only 40% of that of the men’s champion. The 2016 tournament ended with equal prize money, with Deepika Palikar defeating Joshna Chinapa to win the title for the second time.
entrepreneur
Dipika Pallikal works at Studio Twenty-One Twelve, a branding and interior design agency.
dispute
Consumer Court Victory 2012: Dipika Pallikal v Axis Bank
In 2012, Dipika Pallikal filed a lawsuit against Axis Bank Limited in the Chennai Consumer Court, seeking compensation of Rs 100 cr. In 2011, she received a compensation of Rs 10 lakh after an embarrassing incident occurred during a trip to Rotterdam. Although she had sufficient balance in her account, her debit card was declined when she tried to make a transaction at a hotel. In 2014, Dipika Pallikal won the case and the consumer court directed Axis Bank to pay her Rs. A compensation of Rs 5 lakh made up for the shortfall in their services.
Dinesh Karthik’s Listicle Controversy
In 2015, Dipika Pallikal’s husband Dinesh Karthik appeared in a MensXP listicle about why “attractive women date unattractive men.” Shortly after reading the article, she became furious and responded on Twitter:
Pallikal Karthik’s Tweet on MensXP List Article 2015
High Court arbitration victory
In 2017, Pallikal Karthik appointed an arbitrator to the Madras High Court under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act in a payment dispute with Borg Energy India Private Limited. The dispute was over a “brand endorsement agreement” and they had not paid her Rs. Revenue from brand endorsement amounted to Rs 10 lakh in 2015-16. After winning the case, the Madras High Court Arbitration Center awarded Dipika Pallikal Rs. 19.48 million rupees with 12% interest.
Awards and Honors
- In 2013, Pallikal Karthik was awarded the Arjuna Award.
Dipika Pallikal wins Arjuna Award
- In 2015, Pallikal Karthik was awarded the Padma Shri.
Dipika Pallikal receives Padma Shri
Facts/Trivia
- She plays squash with a Technifibre brand racket.
- Dipika Pallikal is a certified baker.
Dipika Pallikal shows off her cake
- Sarah Fitz-Gerald is an Australian former professional squash player and coach of Dipika Pallikal.
Sarah Fitzgerald and Deepika Pallikar
- Pallikal Karthik is an avid dog lover. She has a pet dog named Coco. She often shares photos of her pets on social media.
Dipika Pallikal with her husband and pet dog
- She has also walked the ramp at various events. In 2014, she walked the stage at ‘Lakme Fashion Week’ for designer ‘Arpita Mehta’.
Dipika Pallikal walks the ramp during Lakme Fashion Week
- Dipika Pallikal has appeared in many famous magazines and tabloids such as “Femina Tamil Magazine” and “Verve India Magazine”.
Dipika Pallikal appears on the cover of Verve magazine
- She is the brand ambassador of ‘Sports365’ and ‘Caratlane’.
- As a model, Dipika Pallikal often endorses commercial products on social media.
Dipika Pallikal promotes baby products online
- Pallikal Karthik is a fitness enthusiast and frequents the gym. She often shares fitness photos on social media.
Deepika Palikar in the gym
- She enjoys the occasional alcoholic beverage.
Dipika Pallikal drinks wine
- In her spare time, Dipika Pallikal enjoys traveling, swimming and dancing.
Dipika Pallikal enjoys while traveling
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education