Nicol on a roll to empower women, youth through her own organisation

GEORGE TOWN – After beating 23 others to become the World Games’ Greatest Athlete of All Time, Datuk Nicol David has her eyes set on getting a youth organisation in her name up and running once she returns from abroad next month.
 
During a celebratory web-chat session with Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, Nicol said she is currently in Bogota, Columbia, where she had spent her last year of training before her retirement.
 
“I find (Columbia) to be a great place... Now that everything has gone online, I’ve been conducting motivational talks through the internet, learning Zoom last year. 
 
“I’ve been working a lot, discussing plans for the Nicol David Organisation, as we will be finalising it for the launch.
 
“I’ll be coming back to Penang next month, and I am very excited,” said Nicol, who won the accolade on February 1 after garnering 318,943 votes from fans.
 
In the webchat, Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) president Gerard Monteiro asked David how she has kept motivated throughout her career.
 
Nicol said she attributes her optimism to values ingrained in her when she was young by her parents, coaches and the community around her.
 
“It’s about being part of the development. From the beginning, my sisters were my benchmark, and my vision was always to beat my sisters. 
 
“But later, it turned into how much can I go with the talent that I have, and I continued to push on with my potential. 
 
“I was not thinking about being No. 1, it was more of me pushing myself toward the potential I had,” she said, adding part of the Nicol David Organisation will be aimed at instilling this same sentiment in youth.
 
“I want to put in sports values, and use squash for the youth to capture these values. Through this organisation, I will be bringing these values forward so they will be motivated, too. 
 
“I also want to let people experience the game that I love, teaching them healthy habits of how girls and boys can play against each other and create a community that creates good values, whether they like squash or not.
 
“I want to focus on empowering women and youth, encouraging more women to know they can also be active and empowered in their own ways. I want to advocate for women and youth in Malaysia in a bigger sense.
 
“Registering my organisation will be my priority once I get back,” said Nicol.
 
The squash queen also touch on obstacles she faced in having to leave Penang to train against the big names of squash in Amsterdam, changing her game from scratch and the road to becoming the No. 1 women's squash player in four years. 
 
Nicol dominated the sport, with world titles from 2006 to 2015, two Commonwealth Games gold medals, five Asian Games gold medals and five British Open trophies up until 2019, when she retired.
 
“It feels pretty amazing and surreal at the same time, as it is an award you don’t hear very often.
 
“It is truly special because, when the vote was going on, the whole of Malaysia came together to vote for me. 
 
“The squash community shared the news, too. I am so grateful and it is such an honour to have this support, with people cheering me from afar until I reached the end.”
 
Also participating in the session were Social Development exco Chong Eng, Youth and Sports exco Soon Lip Chee, Squash Rackets Association of Penang president Datuk Lim Tiong Chin, David’s parents, Ann Marie and Desmond David, and David’s first squash coach Ee Phoeh Hoon. – The Vibes, February 8, 2021