The Indian mixed doubles pair of Saurav Ghosal and Dipika Pallikal had to settle for silver in the summit clash of the WSF World Doubles Squash Championships, where they lost to the third seeded Paul Coll and Joelle King of New Zealand, 8-11, 8-11 on August 18.

Despite the pair missing out on the gold, the WSF World International Doubles in Australia has been a historic campaign for India with three medals won for the first time in the history of the Championship.

In addition to Dipika and Sauravas silver, the mixed pair of Joshna Chinappa and Harinder Pal Sandhu and the doubles pair of Joshna and Dipika ended their tournament with a bronze medal each.

The Indian players on the podium during the mixed doubles medal ceremony.
The Indian players on the podium during the mixed doubles medal ceremony.

In addition to the victories, the men’s doubles pair of Harinder and Ramit Tandon went finished fifth at the end of the play offs.

It was an unexpected end for Dipika and Saurav, who had prevailed over the Kiwi mixed doubles pair in a tight match a day earlier in their final group assignment, and were thus considered favourites. But King and Coll put up a determined show that took the game out of the Indiansa hands.

The pair from New Zealand played to a plan, never allowing either Saurav or Dipika to settle to any strategy. By constantly varying their pace and returns, they never allowed the Indians to build a rhythm.

While the Indians were under pressure, they still matched point for point. They missed out by not being able to come up with the right variations.

Rallies were few, but Paul, in particular, and Joelle showed the touch to get the drops going well, and also hitting the ball through the middle to leave the Indians stranded at times. The Indian pair lacked the finesse required, though an occasional Dipika floater did raise hopes.

The contest was more evenly poised in the second game, but where the New Zealanders drew comfort was by not conceding any lead at any stage. It was a case of slow and steady progress, which led to their success, all in 34 minutes.

“Which ever way one viewed it, this has been a fabulous show overall by the Indians. Returning with three medals is something to be proud of and the players surely need a pat on their backs for this,” said national coach Cyrus Poncha, who had accompanied the Indian squad.

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