|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Chennai, IND |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Ashraf Karargui [personal] |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | She began playing squash at age 10, and competed in her first professional tournament at age 15. |
General Interest | |
| Other information | MATERNITY BREAK AND RETURN She took a break from the sport between 2018 and 2022 in order to start a family. After giving birth to twin sons in October 2021, she returned to training later that year at the Indian Squash Academy in Chennai, India, and returned to competition at the 2022 World Doubles Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. "I think as an athlete it's important to make those tough decisions when you hit a roadblock, feel stagnated, and are not happy with your rankings. It was a hard decision to take when I dropped out in 2018. Coming back to the sport has been hard both mentally and physically. But, I am happy at making it back to the Indian team. The priority is to play for the country and win medals. That's also the responsibility of going back home to my boys. I like this life." (Joshna Chinappa Instagram profile, 10 Apr 2022; timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 03 Apr 2022; sportstar.thehindu.com, 24 Mar 2022; yourstory.com, 11 Mar 2022; sportstar.thehindu.com, 09 Feb 2022) BUSINESS During her break from the sport between 2018 and 2022, she and a childhood friend established an interior design business in India. "Though I don't have a background in interior design, I took the brave step of starting something I knew very little about." (yourstory.com, 11 Mar 2022; architecturaldigest.in, 03 Sep 2022) |
| Famous relatives | Her husband Dinesh Karthik has represented India in cricket, and captained Indian club side Kolkata Knightriders during the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League. Her cousin Sunayna Kuruvilla has represented India in squash, and won silver in the women's team event at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. Her mother played cricket for the Indian national team in the 1970s. (bollywoodshaadis.com, 18 Mar 2018; eenaduindia.com, 10 Apr 2018; SportsDeskOnline, 06 May 2022) |
| Most influential person in career | Her family, and husband Dinesh Karthik. (idiva.com, 13 May 2013; yourstory.com, 11 Mar 2022) |
| Awards and honours | She was named Sportswoman of the Year in the racket sports category at the 2023 Sportstar Aces Awards in India. (mykhel.com, 28 Feb 2023) In 2014 she was given the Vocational Excellence Award by the Rotary Club of Madras, India. (fairandglow.com, 12 Mar 2014) In 2014 she became the youngest recipient of the Padma Shri Award, given out by the Indian government to recognise contributions in areas such as sport. (actsfaqs.com, 29 Jan 2014) She received the Ethiraj College Alumni award for her achievements in squash in 2013. (fairandglow.com, 12 Mar 2014) In 2012 she was given the Arjuna Award by the Indian government for sporting excellence. She was the first squash player to receive the award. (idiva.com, 04 Sep 2012) In 2011 she received the Vocational Service Award, NDTV 24/7 Rock Star Best Sportswoman Award, and L'oreal Femina Best Sportsperson Award. (fairandglow.com, 12 Mar 2014) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Handedness | Right |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete, Businessperson |
| Languages | English, Hindi |
| Family | Husband Dinesh, twin sons Kabir and Zian [2021] |
General Interest | |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning gold in mixed doubles at the 2022 World Doubles Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. (sportstar.thehindu.com, 09 Apr 2022) |
| Ambitions | To win a medal in women's doubles at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China. (sportstar.thehindu.com, 24 Mar 2022) |
| Milestones | She and Saurav Ghosal became the first Indian squash players to win a gold medal at the world doubles championships, following their victory in the mixed event at the 2022 edition in Glasgow, Scotland. Later on the same day, she won the women's doubles title alongside Joshana Chinappa to become the first Indian player to win multiple titles at the tournament. (SportsDeskOnline, 06 May 2022; sportstar.thehindu.com, 09 Apr 2022) She became the first Indian female squash player to win an individual medal at the Asian Games when she won bronze in singles at the 2014 Games in Incheon, Republic of Korea. In 2014 she and Joshana Chinappa also became the first Indian squash players to win gold at the Commonwealth Games when they triumphed in women's doubles in Glasgow, Scotland. (sports.ndtv.com, 22 Sep 2014; SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2018; sportstar.thehindu.com, 09 Apr 2022; espn.com, 09 Apr 2022) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "It's imperative to be part of a loyal team, loyal sponsors, a loyal coach and over and above, family members who are okay with you taking a break. This is especially important for women. Being an athlete is tough, but being an Indian woman athlete is tougher when you play for the country. But it's heartening to see so many women taking up sport because of strong role models like [Indian boxer] Mary Kom, [Indian badminton player] PV Sindhu, and others." (yourstory.com, 11 Mar 2022) "Impossible is nothing." (yourstory.com, 11 Mar 2022) |
Further Personal Information | |
| Other names | Dipika Pallikal |