Dipika Pallikal goes down in first round of Qatar Classic

Yathreb Adel (left) and Dipika Pallikal in action at the Qatar Classic on Saturday (Image courtesy: Qatar Classic)

Yathreb Adel (left) and Dipika Pallikal in action at the Qatar Classic (Image courtesy: Qatar Classic)

While Indian squash fans rejoiced at Joshna Chinappa’s stunning upset of the World No. 1 Raneem El Welily, there was some disappointment in store for the Indian contingent at the $115k Qatar Classic held at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha on Saturday.

India No. 1 and World No. 19 Dipika Pallikal was not as lucky as her compatriot as she went down to the 25th ranked Yathreb Adel of Egypt in the opening round. The 13th seed lost 5-11, 7-11, 7-11 to the 19-year-old in 36 minutes.

The result deprives Indian fans of a grand opportunity to see an all-Indian clash in the second round of the Qatar Classic. Joshna will now take on Adel for a place in the quarter-finals.

The outcome is a major departure from the impressive form that Pallikal showed in her very last tournament at the US Open where she toppled the World No. 5 Alison Waters and former World No. 4 Joelle King en route to the quarters.

On the men’s side, World No. 16 Saurav Ghosal is the only Indian in the main draw. He will start his campaign against the 19th ranked Fares Dessouki of Egypt on Sunday. Earlier, Mahesh Mangaonkar had bowed out in the first qualifying round at this tournament. Mangaonkar, who was the 16th seed in qualifying, went down 14-12, 9-11, 6-11, 7-11 to Charles Sharpes of England in 68 minutes.

About the author

Sudeshna is a veteran Indian Sports and International Tennis journalist as well as editor at Sportskeeda. She has an overall experience of over 10 years with top publications like The Bridge, Fox Sports Asia, and gained a keen interest in Indian sports since the 2002 Commonwealth and Asian Games when she was in school.

Sudeshna holds a Master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She attends tournaments regularly and being a highly experienced journalist, she ensures she only contacts the correct people from her network for the most authentic information to be put in her articles.

Sudeshna’s favorite Indian athlete is PV Sindhu owing to her big-tournament performances. She also admires Tennis legend Rafael Nadal for his resilience and has witnessed the Spaniard in action at the French Open, due to which, Roland Garros is her all-time favorite Grand Slam tournament.

Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics made a lasting impact on Sudeshna. She has also interviewed him along with Badminton star Chirag Shetty and several other sports personalities. She has done on-ground reporting on multiple ITF tournaments along with the Premier Badminton League, Asian Boxing Championships and the Davis Cup.

When not using her skills and years of experience in crafting compelling content, Sudeshna likes to read, watch movies and travel.

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Edited by Staff Editor