Dinesh Karthik Wedding With Dipika Pallikal: A Sporty Affair

The Dipika Pallikal Dinesh Karthik Wedding created quite the furor, and added to the line of cricketers tying the knot with famous and beautiful sportswomen. Dinesh and Dipika had kept their courtship under wraps for many years, and little was known about Dinesh’s relationship status after his failed first marriage.

DInesh Karthik Wedding – Via:Source

Dinesh Karthik was earlier married to his childhood sweetheart Nikita Vanjara, when he was just 23-years old. He first met the Indian squash sensation, Dipika Rebecca Pallikal at the Chennai marathon in 2008. Back then, Dipika was only a 17 year old girl, and it was only when they met again in 2013 that they struck a cord. They became friends while training together at a gym in Chennai.

Later that year, when Dipika went to Leeds for a week of physical training, Dinesh joined her and that’s when their friendship blossomed into love. Dinesh however waited to pop the question until his job in England was done. With the Indian cricket team winning the 2013 ICC champions trophy in England, Dinesh and Dipika celebrated and it was during these celebrations in June 2013 that he asked her to marry him. They got engaged in November 2013 and got married in August 2015.

While it appears to be a case of guy meets girl, falls in love and gets married – this love story has its share of interesting twists and turn which led to their coming together. Let’s take a look at how this love story unfolded.

[Read More: Dhoni Marriage With Sakshi]

Dinesh Karthik’s Early Life

Dinesh Karthik was born in Chennai on the 1st of June, 1985. He moved to Kuwait as an 8 year old along with his parents who worked there. Coming back two years later at the age of 10, Karthik studied at the Indian public school in Chennai which is where he took up cricket following the foot-steps of his father Krishna Kumar who was a first class cricketer himself. Karthik practised long and hard under the guidance of his father and was consequently picked up for the Tamil Nadu youth team where he played as a batsman.

A string of impressive performances saw him take leaps in the domestic circuit. He was promoted to the Tamil Nadu under – 19 when he was only 15. At the start of the 2002-2003 season, Karthik was called up to the Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy side aged 17. By the end of the 2003 season, Karthik was in the Indian under – 19 side and by mid 2004, he had made his international début for India. Karthik was an integral part of India’s success on the tour of England in 2007 and was also part of the World T20 winning side. He played a major part in the 2013 ICC Champions trophy that India won.

[Read More: Shikhar Dhawan’s Marriage]

Dipika Pallikal on the other hand, also hails from Chennai. She was born on the 21st of September, 1991 to a Malayali Christian couple of Syrian origin. Her mother, Susan Itticheria played cricket for the Indian women’s team and is a former captain of the women’s team. Dipika however, never liked cricket too much. She in fact disliked cricket from an early age owing to the game’s continuous overshadowing of other sports and sport-persons in India. So, she took up squash. She played her first international tournament in London when she was in her 6th grade and later won several tournaments on the European junior squash circuit.

Dipika: The Talented Young Achiever & Dinesh’s Better Half

She turned pro in 2006 aged only 15 but was very inconsistent. After an initial struggle of 5 years and a training stint in Egypt in 2011, she started putting in better performances. She won her first major in 2011 and became the first Indian to reach the final of a silver level tournament in January 2012. The same year, she became the first Indian to reach the semi final of a gold level tournament. In December 2012, she broke into the World’s top 10 rankings and received the Arjuna award for this achievement. She became the first female squash player to be conferred with the honour. At the 2014 Asian games, she won the bronze medal in the women’s singles tournament and followed it up by winning gold in the women’s doubles tournament at the 2014 commonwealth games partnering with Joshna Chinappa.

Dinesh Karthik Wedding: His First Marriage with Nikita Vanjara

In 2007, the 21-year old Dinesh Karthik married his childhood friend Nikita Vanjara. The marriage was held in Mumbai. Nikita’s father and Dinesh’s father were friends for a long time and the kids grew fond of each other as they got older. Both the families decided to turn friendship into a relation and the youngsters were very eager too. However, things went south after 5 years when Nikita started seeing Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik’s Tamil Nadu team mate and also the current Indian test team’s opening batsman. If rumours are to be believed, the incident that lead to the break up of Karthik’s first marriage occurred during a Vijay Hazare trophy match in 2012. This was just before a crucial Ranji trophy match between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The divorce was finalised very quickly and quietly and by the end of 2012, Nikita Vanjara and Murali Vijay tied the knot. They now have a 2 year old son.

[Read More: Murali Vijay’s Wedding ]

Dipika & Dinesh Karthik Wedding Pictures – The Love Story

They first met at the Chennai marathon in 2008. However, Karthik was already married and Dipika was just a young girl. But as fate would have it, they met at the gym in 2013. They both trained at Mr. Shankar Basu’s Maverick gym in Chennai. He was actually their trainer and introduced them to each other. It is during this time that sparks started to fly between the two.

Dinesh Karthik Wedding: Their Life Post Engagement

While Dipika was on the rise post her engagement with a bronze medal in the singles event at the Asian games at Incheon in 2014 and a gold medal in the doubles with partner Joshna Chinappa at the commonwealth games in Glasgow in 2014, Karthik got dropped from the Indian side due to his poor form. He however had a stellar IPL season and has been amongst the top run scorers in the domestic circuit in India in the 2 seasons. He initially gave up wicket keeping for Tamil Nadu to focus on his batting and it showed with his tremendous IPL performance.

Dinesh Karthik Marriage

They had two engagement ceremonies and two wedding ceremonies. Dipika is a Malayali Christian with Syrian origins while Dinesh is a Hindu. So, when they got engaged in November 2013, they had a Christian ceremony and a Hindu ceremony, both at the ITC Grand Chola in Chennai. Both events were a closed and private affair attended by family and close friends. At the engagement, Dipika wore a Ritu Kumar designer red saree for the Hindu ceremony while Dinesh looked dapper in a cream coloured Kurta Pyjama with a blue Nehru Jacket.

[Read More: Shikhar Dhawan’s Marriage]

DInesh Karthik Wedding – The Christian Celebrations

On the 18th August 2015, the couple got married at a church in Chennai. Dipika looked stunning in a white Christian wedding gown embedded with Swarowski crystals. Her father walked her down the aisle. Dinesh looked dashing in a jet black tuxedo. After the wedding, the couple hosted a reception in Chennai where there were speeches by the best man and the maid of honour. In the evening, the couple hosted some close friends for a party at their residence.

DInesh Karthik Wedding – The Hindu Celebrations

On 19 August, Dipika had a very private mehndi ceremony and on the 20th the couple got married again in a traditional Hindu ceremony. As per traditions, the bride wore a yellow bridal saree with a red border while the groom wore a cream coloured sherwani, a cream dhoti and a turban of the same colour. According to media reports (Source: NDTV sports) , the couple danced to the tune of ‘Badtameez Dil’ from the Ranbir Kapoor and Dipika Padukone starrer ‘Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani’ at the post wedding reception.

The Happy-Busy Married Life

In an interview with a tabloid in June 2016, Dipika shared that the one year post-marriage has been a great one in spite of the fact that they had been busy with their professional commitments. She shared that the couple unwinds by idling at home, whenever they get some time off from their work.

Dinesh and Dipika have been so neck-deep with their professional obligations that Dipika was not even in the country on her first marriage anniversary in August 2016 since she was in Australia representing India at World International Doubles Squash Championships. The sportsperson couple has been meeting ample success in their respective sports, and despite the busy schedule remain to be a doting espoused pair.

We wish the couple a lifetime of togetherness and success on and off the field. We hope you liked our story on Dipika & Dinesh Karthik Wedding. Please share your views by commenting on this post.

Update: Dipika Pallikal’s Shock Exit From PSA World Tour

Dipika Pallikal, ranked 7th in the world, has suffered a shock exit at the hands of Egypt’s Mariam Metwally at the Wadi Dagla Open. Metwally is seeded 31 in the latest world rankings. The result has sent shock-waves across sports fans and Dipika followers in the nation. With her exit, there are no longer any Indian representatives at the event. Stay tuned for further details from the sports star’s life.