News Nation Logo

Dipika Pallikal wins Macau Open title

Indian Squash Player Dipika Pallikal Notched Up A Stunning Victory Against Former World Number One Rachael Grinham Of Australia To Clinch The Macau Open Title At Macau On Sunday.

PTI | Updated on: 20 Oct 2013, 10:40:10 PM

New Delhi:

Indian squash player Dipika Pallikal notched up a stunning victory against former World number one Rachael Grinham of Australia to clinch the Macau Open title at Macau on Sunday.

The 22-year-old had reached the final defeating Rachael's younger sister Natalie, a former World No.2, currently ranked eighth in the WSA rankings.

In the summit clash, Dipika held her nerves in the crucial moments to register a 12-10, 5-11, 11-7, 11-9 win over Rachael in a 42-minute contest. It is the seventh Women's Squash Association (WSA) title of Dipika's career.

"It was a good win. I had trained well for the tournament and I am happy with the victory," said World No.17 Dipika, the first Indian to break into the top-10.

"Beating top ranked players gave me a lot of confidence. They are all experienced players on the circuit and It will help me to do well in the future. I am looking forward to many such wins," added the Indian, who had beaten another higher-ranked player, Kasey Brown of Australia, in a New York tournament earlier in the month.

She now play in the China Open next week. Meanwhile, top Indian men's player Sourav Ghosal lost 8-11 11-9 8-11 7-11 to top seed Omar Mosaad in an 81-minute semifinal match.

Omar lead the opening game 3-1, when an injury to Sourav stopped the game temporarily. After a quick treatment, the Indian was back in the court and he soon leveled the score at 6-6. But the injury had left him uncomfortable at the court as Omar wrapped up the first set 11-8.

Saurav and Omar fought tooth and nail and from 6-6, the Indian surged ahead to 10-8, before winning it 11-9. The pair traded blows in the third all the way to 8-all but an unlucky point at a crucial moment gave the momentum back to Omar, who finished off the next rally to win 11-8.

In the next, from 3-all, Omar moved ahead to 9-6 and then with the help of a few brilliant shots, he won the next two points to finally wrap it up.

For all the Latest Sports News News, Other Sports News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.

First Published : 20 Oct 2013, 10:39:00 PM

Videos