Indian squash ace Dipika Pallikal put up a brilliant fight but was narrowly edged by the World No. 10 Annie Au, 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 7-11 in the first round of the $185, 000 Naza Women’s World Squash Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday. The high-octane contest lasted 1 hour 3 minutes.
The Hong Kong national champion Au had the more confident start of the two at Bukit Jalil’s National Squash Centre. The left-hander built an early momentum by clinching the first game 11-8.
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She staved off a strong challenge from Dipika to come back from 4-6 down and take the second game as well.
Mighty effort from Dipika to come back from 0-2 down and level
But the 19th ranked Pallikal refused to surrender so easily. She had been a quarter-finalist at this prestigious tournament in 2011 and her immense experience helped her to extend the match. With an array of forehand winners, the former World No. 10 was soon back in the hunt and her aggressive display rewarded her with the third and the fourth games.
It was a tightly-contested decider in which the World No. 10 managed to get a slender lead and she held on to it till the end.
“I was a bit rushed, but I think that I played well overall because Dipika is not an easy player to play,” said Au about Pallikal.
“She’s an attacking player and, when I gave her a lot of chances in the middle, she really can whack the ball back. I’m really happy to go through to the second round.”
The 27-year-old goes on to meet the British Open champion Nour El Sherbini in the second round.
Joshna now the last Indian standing
With Dipika’s loss, the country’s top-ranked player Joshna Chinappa now remains the only Indian at the World Championship. The World No. 14 notched up a comfortable straight-game victory in her opening round on Monday and she will now face the top seed Laura Massaro for a place in the quarter-finals.
The match is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
