Dipika Pallikal Karthik won the Sportstar Aces award for the Sportswoman of the Year (Racquet Sports) at the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai on Monday.

Making a comeback to the squash court in 2022, Dipika started the year with two gold medals at the World Doubles Championships.

She first clinched the mixed doubles title with Saurav Ghosal by defeating England’s Adrian Waller and Alison Waters 11-6, 11-8. An hour and a-half later, Dipika and Joshna Chinappa triumphed in the women’s doubles final after a hard-fought 11-9, 4-11, 11-8 win over England’s Sarah Jane Perry and Waters.

In August, she added another feather in her cap at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Teaming up with Ghosal yet again, Dipika clinched the bronze medal, courtesy of an 11-8, 11-4 win against Australia’s Cameron Pilley and Donna Lobban.

This was Dipika’s fourth Commonwealth Games medal. Out of the previous three, one came at Glasgow in 2014, and two were won at the 2018 Gold Coast edition.

Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, former India hockey captain M. M. Somaya, chess great Viswanathan Anand, former India football skipper Bhaichung Bhutia, Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, and Olympians Anjali Bhagwat and Aparna Popat are the members of the Sportstar Aces 2023 jury.

The event is supported by IDFC First Bank, Indian Oil, India Cements, United India, Ramaiah University, Experimenta Science Center GD Naidu Charity, Finolex Pipes, LIC, BPCL, Samsonite, Big Basket, Nippon Paint, CRICHQ, Wordswork, NewsX, and Casagrand.


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