SRFI felicitates gold medal-winning trio

CHENNAI: On a high after winning the mixed doubles crown at the World Squash Championships in Glasgow earlier this month, Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Saurav Ghosal on Friday said that their gold-medal winning performance could be the start of a special year.

With the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and the Hangzhou Asian Games slated for later this year, India’s medal hopes at the quadrennial events have risen.

“It was an unbelievable two weeks. I did not expect to win. I am very, very happy. We know what the bigger goal is,” said Dipika, who alongside Saurav and Joshna Chinappa (with whom Dipika won the women’s doubles title) was felicitated in a function organised by the Squash Rackers Federation of India (SRFI) here.

On his part, Saurav said: “It (the gold medal) is hopefully the start of a special year for Indian squash.” Meanwhile, Joshna recalled the hard work they put in at the Indian Squash Academy (ISA) here and the role the coaches played in the success.

SRFI patron N Ramachandran was effusive in his praise for the trio. “I am delighted with the performances of the Indian players who come from the academy. I never dreamt that India would win two gold medals at the World Doubles Championships. I wish someone from the country rises to the No.1 spot in the singles rankings,” said Ramachandran.

The Dipika-Joshna combination and the Dipika-Saurav pairing received a cash award of Rs 2.5 lakh each and mementos.