Dipika-Harinder pair wins Asian mixed doubles squash championship

Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Harinderpal Singh Sandhu defeated Rachel Arnold and Ivan Yuen 11-10, 11-8 in the final to win the Asian mixed doubles squash championship.

Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Harinderpal Singh Sandhu won the Asian mixed doubles squash championship. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

It was a red-letter day for India at the first Asian mixed doubles squash championship at Huangzhou (China) on Friday as the duo of Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Harinderpal Singh Sandhu defeated the Malaysian pair of Rachel Arnold and Ivan Yuen 11-10, 11-8 in the final.

Dipika said the victory is a good preparation for the Asian Games. “It went according to plan. We had trained hard keeping a few specifics in mind, happy the hard yards we put in worked well. It’s always nice to bring a medal back home, nothing beats doing well for the country. It’s a massive confidence boost with the Asian Games around the corner. We would love to carry this rhythm there as well,” she said.

Dipika further praised her partner Harinder. “He is a fantastic player with a wonderful future. We haven’t played with each other, but we have known each other since the junior days and have travelled a lot together. Elated this partnership is working well. We go back, train harder work on a few things we need to look forward to doing better at the Asian Games.”

Earlier, on Thursday, Dipika-Harinder put it across the top-seeded pair of Aira Azman and Shafiq Kamal of Malayasia.