Dipika Pallikal: Dinesh and I don’t get much time to unwind

Dipika Pallikal, who often makes headlines by winning international tournaments, speaks to us about life post marriage to cricketer Dinesh Karthik, her love for all things simple, squash, and more …
How has married life been?
The last one year has been really good and also it has passed by very fast. I think we’ve not really spent as much time as we thought we would because of our professional commitments.And I don’t think I am going to be here in India for our first anniversary. I will mostly be in Australia then for the World International Doubles Squash Championships. But recently, we’ve already taken a few vacations and travelled around together.
How do you both unwind when together?
Both our lives revolve around our training and tournaments. So, we really don’t get much time to unwind. However, Dinesh is a movie buff and on weekends he does nothing but sit in front of the TV. He is also a big foodie and will eat any cuisine. On a day off I cook, but not on a regular basis. As for me, I just like to unwind at home and do nothing.
Are you a car person, as in are you crazy about them?
Dinesh would be the right person to talk about cars. He loves cars. He changes his cars every six to seven months and I’ve never seen someone like him who is that crazy about automobiles. Last year, when we were in Italy, we hired a car and drove all the way through Italy. We really enjoyed it. Over the years, after being with him, I think I’ve also learnt a lot about cars. In fact, he gifted me a car for our wedding last year. His two big weaknesses are cars and watches.

Tell us about your style statement off the court...
I just like to keep it really simple and wear something I am comfortable in. At home, I just love to be in a pair of shorts and a tee. But like any other girl, I love to put on make-up and look good and I take that extra time to dress up. Also, after marriage, the number of occasions when I dress up traditionally, especially in a sari, has gone up.
Last year, your coach Sarah Fitz-Gerald made a statement that politics come in the way of Indian squash. Are you also of the same opinion?
I don’t want to comment on this. I feel Indian squash is on a high right now. All of us, including Joshna and Saurav Ghosal, are doing fantastic job for the country. And I think nothing should come before our achievements and medals for the country. All I can say is that we love to play for the country. It gives us a high to win medals for India and we always strive for that.
You and Joshna seem to have buried the hatchet and have become friends again...
We’ve always been friends and have a mutual respect for each other. We both keep saying that our goal is not to race against each other, but to win medals for the country. I think it’s the media that blew things out of proportion. Now, the Commonwealth Games is coming up again in 2018. We both are fit enough to produce results and we will be favourites to win medals at 2018 Commonwealth Games. We are really looking forward to playing as a team.
What are the major championships coming up for you?
In August, we’ve the world doubles coming up for Joshna and me. We are really looking forward to that.
Your ranking has slipped to 18 now. How are you trying to make up for that?
I think, ranking will get better automatically when you play well. I am working on a few stuff and hopefully, that will make a difference when the season starts. For me, what is important is to stay injury free, win big championships and ranking will follow.