Dipika Pallikal (Dinesh Karthik’s Wife) Age, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Dipika Pallikal

• Dipika Pallikal Karthik is an Indian professional squash player who also works as a model and entrepreneur. In December 2012, she made history by becoming the first Indian woman squash player to enter the top 10 in the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Women’s rankings. She also received the prestigious Arjuna Award, India’s second-highest sporting award, that same year, becoming the first female squash player to do so.

• She was born to Malayali Christian parents of ‘Syrian’ origin.
  

  A childhood picture of Dipika Pallikal (back)

• Dipika Pallikal is the second wife of Indian cricketer ‘Dinesh Karthik.’

• Her mother used to play International cricket for the Indian women’s team and also served the team as captain.

• Dipika Pallikal disliked cricket in her childhood as she thought cricket overshadows other sports.

• She started playing squash when she was ten years old.
  

  An eleven years old Dipika Pallikal (extreme right) with her coach (middle)

• When she was in sixth class, she played her first International tournament in London.

• Thereafter, Dipika Pallikal was a part of the ‘European Junior Squash Circuit’ that was played among U-19 junior squash players and won several tournaments.

• At the age of 15, she turned into a professional squash player, but she struggled for almost five years to get a better opportunity.

• Dipika Pallikal and Dinesh Karthik first met in 2008 at ‘The Chennai Marathon,’ but they became friends in 2013 when they again met in Chennai’s ‘Maverick Gym’ where they got training under the guidance of Shankar Basu who introduced them. She fell in love with Dinesh when she was in Leeds, England, for seven days of physical training, and reportedly, Dinesh went there only to meet her.

• Despite facing some challenges at the beginning of her career, Dipika Pallikal became more consistent after receiving training in Egypt in 2011. During the same year, she won three Women’s International Squash Players Association (WISPA) world tour titles. The first one was in Irvine CA, where she won the Orange County Open, the second was in the US, and the third was in Hong Kong, where she won the Crocodile Challenge Cup, which helped her achieve a world ranking of 17.

• She plays squash with a Technifibre brand racquet and is also a certified baker.
  

  Dipika Pallikal presenting a cake made by her

• She earned recognition after her performance in the World Open, and in February 2012, she achieved a world ranking of 14 and surpassed Misha Grewal’s previous best ranking, which Misha achieved in 1995. Dipika Pallikal then created history and became the first Indian to reach the final of a silver event during the Tournament of Champions squash meet organised in New York in January 2012.
  

  Dipika Pallikal during the Tournament of Champions squash meet in New York (2012)

• She reached the semi-finals of a gold event during the 2012 Australian Open and became the first Indian to do so. She also played an important role in the Indian squash team that finished fifth in the 2012 Women’s World Team Squash Championships. In these championships, they defeated higher-ranked Netherlands and Ireland.
  

  Dipika Pallikal during the 2012 Women’s World Team Squash Championships

• Dipika Pallikal’s accomplishments include winning her sixth WSA title in February 2013 and winning the squash women’s doubles gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games with Joshna Chinappa, marking India’s first-ever medal in the sport at the event.
  

  Pallikal Karthik posing with Joshna Chinappa after winning a gold medal in the CWG in 2014

• From 2012 to 2015, she refused to participate in the ‘National Squash Championship’ because of the inequality in men’s and women’s championship winner prize money as the women were awarded only 40% of the men’s winner prize money. In the 2016 championships, she began playing NSC after the prize money was equalized.

• In 2014, she walked the ramp for ‘Lakme Fashion Week’ for the designer ‘Arpita Mehta.’
  

  Dipika Pallikal walking a ramp at Lakme Fashion Week

• In 2014, she was appointed as the brand ambassador of India’s first online jewellery website titled ‘Caratlane.’ She is also the brand ambassador of ‘Sports365,’ which sells sports goods online.

• She then earned a silver medal in a team event and a bronze medal in the singles event during the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. In January 2015, Dipika Pallikal picked up her 10th Tour title by winning the Winter Club Open. She won a silver medal in a mixed doubles event and a bronze medal in a doubles event during the World Doubles Championships held in Darwin in 2016.

• In 2016, during a ‘Professional Squash Association’ (PSA) world tour event in Cairo, Egypt; Dipika Pallikal ranked 19 in the list of PSA. She lost the match against Egypt’s ‘Mariam Metwally,’ who was ranked 31.

• In 2017, she clinched a bronze medal in a doubles event during the World Doubles Championships held in Manchester. She also won a silver medal in a singles event during the Asian Individual Championships organised in Chennai in the same year.

• Dipika Pallikal continued to excel in 2018, winning a silver medal in doubles and a silver medal in a mixed doubles event during the Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast. She also won a bronze medal in a singles event during the Asian Games organised in Jakarta.
  

  Dipika Pallikal after winning the bronze medal during the Asian Games (2018)

• Dipika Pallikal won a bronze medal in a team event and a gold medal in a mixed doubles event at the 2022 Asian Games held in Hangzhou. She also won a gold medal in a doubles event and another gold medal in a mixed doubles event at the 2022 World Doubles Championships in Glasgow. Additionally, she won a bronze medal in a mixed doubles event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
  

  Dipika Pallikal after winning a bronze medal (mixed doubles) in the Commonwealth Games organised in Birmingham, United Kingdom

• In the following year, she achieved another milestone by winning a gold medal in a mixed doubles event with Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu in the Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China.
  

  Pallikal and Sandhu after winning the final mixed doubles event in Squash during the Asian Games (2023)

• Pallikal Karthik is also a branding and interior designer at Studio Twenty-One Twelve. ^[6]Twenty One Twelve

• Apart from being a famous squash player, she is a professional model and often works for ‘Globus Limited.’

• She frequently advertises various commercial products on social media.
  

  Dipika Pallikal while promoting a commercial product online

• Pallikal Karthik has been featured on the cover of ‘Femina Tamil Magazine’ and ‘Verve India Magazine.’
  

  Dipika Pallikal on the cover of noted Indian magazines

• She has her own logo.
  

  Dipika Pallikal’s logo

• Pallikal Karthik is a dog lover. She has many pet dogs, and the name of one of her dogs is Coco. She frequently uploads pictures of her pet on social media.
  

  Dipika Pallikal posing with her pet dogs

• Dipika Pallikal prioritizes fitness and regularly attends the gym, posting pictures of her workout sessions on social media.
  

  Dipika Pallikal posing during her gym sessions

• She occasionally enjoys alcoholic beverages and spends her free time travelling to new places, swimming, and dancing.
  

  Dipika Pallikal posing during her Paris tour

  

  Dipika Pallikal while enjoying alcohol