It is no less than a miracle that an athlete who gave birth to twins six months ago, won not just one but two gold medals in a single day, that too when it was her first competitive event since October 2018. With her hard work and grit, Dipika Pallikal won a gold medal in mixed doubles and followed it up by another in women's doubles at the World Doubles Squash Championships, Glasgow. In essence, this is how peak athleticism looks like.
While Dipika’s husband, Dinesh Karthik, was busy preparing for his wicket-keeping duties for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) more than 7,000 kilometres away, she teamed up with her brother-in-law Saurav Ghosal to win the mixed double title. The duo beat England's Adrian Waller and Alison Waters by 11-6, 11-8.
After clinching the gold medal at mixed events, she was back on the squash court after an hour and a half. This time, she teamed up with Joshna Chinappa to beat England's Sarah Jane Perry and Alison by 11-9, 4-11, 11-8 to clinch another gold medal.
After winning two golds, Dipika is not done yet and wants to prove her mettle in the upcoming Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Also, she wishes that the two golds will help the trio get back in government's Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
"Just happy to be back on court. I trained really hard (for the comeback). I was quite edgy at the start of the tournament but got better as I played more matches.
"It is a good preparation for us for CWG which is the main target. The competition is more or less the same (here and CWG) and we know more about our opponents and we know where we need to improve," the 30-year-old Dipika told PTI.
Dipika's preparations for the doubles event started last year in December, just a couple of months after giving birth to twins. She was joined with Joshna and Ghosal at the ISA. The twin wins also helped her shut a few mouths which believed that her career was over after becoming a mother.
"It is also a relief to be honest that I can still perform. Training is one thing but to be able to do that in a match is another. Never thought we would get this result in my first event in more than three years but so glad that we were able to tick all the boxes.
"There were people who felt I won't be able to do this (after motherhood) but I was never in doubt. The bigger goal remains CWG and Asian Games, so looking forward to that," said the 30-year-old.
