NEW DELHI: Dipika Pallikal has climbed up to the 24th spot to become the highest ranked Indian women squash player in the world, surpassing former national champion Misha Grewal.
After equaling Grewal's record last month - best ranking of 27th registered in 1995 - Dipika jumped three rungs to achieve the feat, courtesy her title triumph in the Nepal Open in November.
In the recently-released rankings published by the Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA), Dipika is at the 24th place while her countrymate Joshna Chinappa finds herself at the 35th position.
The 19-year-old Chennai girl's rise to her best-ever career rankings can be attributed to her last-16 finish at the Harrow Greenwich Open in January, where she defeated compatriot Chinappa in the qualifiers before losing to Egyptian Raneem El Weleily.
Dipika, turned professional in 2006, started 2010 at 46 and ended the year at the 29th spot with the help of two WISPA titles, the other one being her maiden victory in the Indian Challenger event in April.
"I am looking forward to break into top 20 first and then plan the things accordingly. I have been training hard in Egypt to achieve that feat," said Dipika.
Malaysia's Nicol David marked another significant milestone in her illustrious career by celebrating her 58th month as world number one in the rankings chart.
England's Jenny Duncalf and fellow countrywoman Alison Waters are placed second and third respectively.
In the new February Dunlop PSA men's world squash rankings, India's top racqueter Saurav Ghosal is placed 24th, while countrymates Siddharth Suchde and Harinder Pal Sandhu are lingering at the 83rd and 113th positions respectively.
England's Nick Matthew continued to lead the pack ahead of Egypt's Ramy Ashour and Karim Darwish.
England's James Willstrop is placed fourth while another Egyptian Amr Shabana occupy the fifth position.