Dipika Pallikal’s quest for equal prize-money at the National squash championships is unlikely to be realised if one were to go by the Squash Rackets Federation of India’s entry criteria.
Recently, the SRFI had announced a purse of Rs.1.25 lakh each for the men’s and women’s winners of the 2016 edition to be held in Mumbai in July, and Dipika, who had skipped the last few Nationals citing a lack of parity in prize money, sent in her entry for the first time since 2011.
But the National federation’s guidelines clearly state that a minimum of 48 entries is required for a category to qualify for the full amount. If not, the prize money will be reduced by 25 per cent.
So far, the men’s event has received a total of 105 entries while the women’s draw has received only 25, with June 20 being the closing date for registration.
The criterion — introduced this January by the SRFI Championships Committee — assumes significance because the field for the women’s event over the past four years has not exceeded 41 entries (in 2014). Last year, the women’s event saw 33 entries while in 2012 and 2013 the number was 16 and 26.
Sources close to Dipika told The Hindu on Wednesday that the World No.18 might give the tournament a miss if the prize money is unequal. She is likely to wait, however, till the registration deadline to make a call.
