Great mental strength has made Nicol David one of the most accomplished players on the Women’s Interna-tional Squash Professional Association (Wispa) circuit.
And the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) president Datuk A. Sani Karim is counting on her to keep up her excellent performances and also claim a gold medal for the country in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi next year.
“I salute Nicol for her tremendous fighting spirit. It’s not easy for a player, who failed to defend her title in the prestigious British Open and go on to win the world title three weeks later,” said Sani, who is also the president of the Asian Squash Federation (ASF).
“She truly is a great player and has reigned as the world No. 1 since August 2006. But Nicol has to be on her toes as the other players are eager to end her domination.”
Nicol has now won 40 Wispa titles since turning professional in 2000 and her next tournament is the Hong Kong Open from Oct 14-18.
Sani believes that Nicol has the ability to continue playing excellent squash for another nine years.
“We will like to see her winning the elusive Commonwealth Games gold medal in New Delhi next year. That is the only gold medal missing from her collection,” he said.
Sani added that besides the Commonwealth Games, Nicol would also be defending the Asian Games title in Guangzhou in December next year.
“There will be four gold medals at stake in the Asian Games — in the men’s and women’s individual and team. And we hope to bag three of them,” he said.
At the 2006 Doha Asiad, Malaysia bagged both the gold medals at stake through Beng Hee and Nicol. – thestar.
