Dipika Pallikal goes down fighting in US Squash Open quarters

Dipika Pallikal (in front) in action at the US Open (image courtesy: US Open)

India No. 1 squash ace Dipika Pallikal’s campaign came to an end at the prestigious $150,000 US Open as she went down 2-3 to World No. 6 Omneya Abdel Kawy of Egypt in the quarter-finals on Thursday. Dipika, who had upset the fifth-ranked Alison Waters in the previous round, battled hard but Omneya came back to take control of the fifth game and clinched the 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 2-11, 11-3 victory in 55 minutes.

India’s challenge thus came to an end at the season’s first World Series event with Joshna Chinappa exiting in the Round of 16 earlier. On the men’s side, Saurav Ghosal lost in the first round.

Pallikal’s third consecutive five-game encounter against Kawy

Dipika Pallikal versus Omneya Abdel Kawy matches always turn out to be thrilling affairs, with their last two meetings going the distance in 2012. This time too, there was no exception.

It was Kawy who started more confident of the two and built a 9-5 lead in the opening game. But the Indian World No. 19 never gave the sixth-ranked Egyptian a chance to close out the first game. Pallikal went on a six-point burst from there and edged the game 11-9.

Kawy made a determined comeback and snatched the next two games 11-6 and 11-8. Just when it looked like the Egyptian had regained control of the contest, it was Dipika who stormed through the fourth game with lightning pace and displayed her supreme tactical prowess. Pallikal seized the fourth game by a whopping score of 11-2 and enforced a decider.

The momentum, however, quickly changed in the fifth game as the Egyptian now put up an exhibition of her tremendous speed that left Dipika stunned. Hitting winners at will, Omneya Abdel Kawy grabbed the deciding game 11-3 and advanced to her first US Open semi-finals after 10 years.

“Dipika has such great shots, and in the fourth she just played the perfect game. In the fifth I had to try to make it faster and wait for opportunities to go for winners,” said Kawy after her victory.