Joshna and Dipika: India gets new racquet queens

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
ipika Pallikal (left) and Joshna Chinappa pose with their medals after winning the gold in women's doubles squash event during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. (AFP Photo)
ipika Pallikal (left) and Joshna Chinappa pose with their medals after winning the gold in women’s doubles squash event during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. (AFP Photo)

Glasgow :

Forget the gold. Few gave them a chance to even finish on the podium in the Commonwealth Games, given that teams with pedigree like Australia, England, New Zealand and Malaysia were in the fray.

But two girls from Chennai – Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal – squashed all doubts and did the impossible on Saturday to claim the top prize in women’s squash doubles. This is India’s first ever medal in the sport in the Commonwealth Games.

It took the fifth seeded Indian duo just 28 minutes to tame the top seeds Jenny Duncalf and Laura Massaro of England in straight games: 11-6, 11-8.

The scoreline might suggest that the game was a little one sided but it was not. The British pair, after losing the first game, roared back for a 7-2 lead in the second. The Indians fought back to clinch a famous victory .

“We were down for a while, but we were confident. We were telling ourselves that we could do it. We were not here to settle for the silver. We had the belief and the confidence that we could win the gold medal,” 22-year-old Dipika told TOI.

It was a tough competition for the Indian girls as the field included quite a few former Commonwealth Games medallists. “Doubles was a tough competition. It was important for us to take one match at a time, not thinking about whom we were going to play if we advanced. I guess that paid off as it took away the pressure,” she said.

Dipika admitted that the feeling that she and her 27-year-old partner Joshna were the architects of India’s first medal winners in squash was yet to sink in. “I guess it will take a couple of days to sink in. We are delighted.”

Former national champion Bhuvaneshwari Kumari, here as a coach, said the medal would do a world of good to the game back home. “It will inspire people back home. The government and the federation have been very supportive but I think this gold will help us get more support.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> Tournaments> Commonwealth Games 2014 / by Biswajyoti Brahma, TNN / August 03rd, 2014