Chinappa was gunning for her 15th Senior National title, Pallikal was returning to the tournament after six years and had a point to prove.
Even before the 73rd Senior National Squash Championship got under way last week, the clash between defending champion and top seed Joshna Chinappa and second seed Dipika Pallikal was billed as the most anticipated clash of the tournament.
The 30-year-old Chinappa from Tamil Nadu was gunning for her 15th Senior National title, while the talented Pallikal was returning to the tournament after six years and had a point to prove. And, the final between the two turned out to be one mouth-watering affair for those present at the Otters Club in Bandra. However, it was Pallikal, who walked away with the honours beating the senior Chinappa 4-11 11-6 11-2 11-8 in the 43-minute clash.
Joshna began on a positive note winning the first game 11-4 without breaking much sweat. She dominated the show with some beautiful rallies and drop shots that had Dipika on the backfoot.
Undeterred with the first-game loss, a determined Pallikal remained cool and upped her ante in the next three to put Chinappa under pressure. The veteran simply could not match up to Pallikal's skills, fitness and reflexes with the latter winning the next two games 11-6 11-2.
However, the last game was the most exciting of all. When it looked that Pallikal was psychologically up in the game, Chinappa came back strongly. She did not let the game slip away so easily. Pallikal kept her cool till the end that saw her walk away with the match at 11-8 and a cool cash award of Rs 1.25 lakh.
Pallikal was excited to win. "I think Joshna shot from everywhere in the first game. I gave her opportunity initially where she got 7-0 lead. It was really hard to comeback from there. I didn't really have a solid game plan. I just had to keep things tighter thereafter," said Pallikal.
The star player said the two have been friends despite sharing cold vibes in the past. "We both have similar game pattern and both are attacking players. It was a healthy and clean match."
The 24-year-old has been vocal about the equal distribution of prize money between men and women. It was due to this she has not been competing in the senior national squash before making her comeback this year after 2011.
"There is equal prize money, be it US Open, British Open. The men are getting exorbitant amount and we were getting 25-30 thousands. It wasn't about money but the respect that we deserve. When I and Joshna play, crowd loved it. Then, why not equal prize money amount for the effort we put?" she said.
Meanwhile, the men's title was won by top seed Saurav Ghosal, who defeated Harinderpal Singh Sandhu 11-7 7-11 3-11 11-8 14-12 in an exciting tie. Ghosal, too, walked away with the prize money of Rs 1.25 lakh.
Final results: Men's singles: Saurav Ghosal bt Harinderpal Singh Sandhu 11-7 7-11 3-11 11-8 14-12; Women's singles: Dipika Pallikal bt Joshna Chinappa 4-11 11-6 11-2 11-8
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 "Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa")
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