Dipika comes from a sporting family. Her mother, Susan Pallikal, was captain of the Indian cricket team, her father represented Kerala in basketball, her grandmother was in the state volleyball team and her great grandfather was a state record holder in high jump.
Her first tournament was at the inter-school level, in 2002. It was the South India tournament, which she won.
Later, the same year, after winning the National junior title she decided she would take up the game seriously. And in her first international event -- the junior Scottish Open -- she finished runner-up.
The German Open followed and with it her first triumph on the international stage. She went on to win the Dutch, Scottish, Belgium, French and British Opens for juniors.
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