Pallikal in British Open squash pre-quarters

India's Dipika Pallikal defeated Denmark's Line Hansen in a marathon first round encounter to enter the pre-quarter-finals of the Allam British Open Squash Championships, in Hull, England.

In what was the longest match of the tournament so far, world No 15 Pallikal had to dig deep for 76 minutes to get the better of her Danish opponent 13-11, 14-16, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, at Ponterfact.

The round of 16 matches will now be played in an outdoor glass court of the multi-purpose KC stadium.

Pallikal will face local favourite Laura Massaro next, on Thursday.

In their last meeting, the 2012 Australian Open semi-finals, Pallikal was beaten by her English opponent.

In the men's competition, India's Saurav Ghosal will face fourth seed Gregory Gaultier of France in the pre-quarter-finals later on Wednesday.

Image: Deepika Pallikal (right)