KUALA LUMPUR – Now that she has been crowned the World’s Greatest Athlete of all Time by sports fans around the world, squash queen Datuk Nicol David has never failed to bring joy to Malaysians even after her 2-year retirement from the sport.
Olympic Council Malaysia (OCM) president, Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria, told The Vibes that this recent accolade clearly shows that Nicol’s achievements in squash is globally recognised. It should serve as an inspiration to other Malaysian athletes and give them the confidence to emulate her and conquer sports on the world stage.
“On behalf of OCM and the sports fraternity, I convey our heartiest congratulations to Nicol for a very monumental achievement,” he said.
Meanwhile, former OCM secretary, Datuk Sieh Kok Chi, said that this a well-deserved victory for Nicol and the country is proud of her and all her achievements.
“She is very sporting with no controversies whatsoever. Congratulations to Nicol. I hope other athletes would follow in her footsteps and make the nation proud,” he said when The Vibes contacted him.
Squash Racquet Association of Malaysia (SRAM) Director Major (r) Maniam said that this is a proud achievement not only for Nicol but also for the sport itself, the country and all her fans around the world.
“I am absolutely delighted that our squash queen has achieved yet another milestone. I have seen her grow to become a great squash player,” he said.
Nicol, the only candidate from Asia, finished on top with 318,943 (26%) votes from fans around the world, more than double the votes of her nearest competitor, Irish tug-of-war athlete James Kehoe, who garnered 113,120 votes. Powerlifter Larysa Soloviova of Ukraine finished third with 80,790 votes.
The poll, which was conducted by the International World Games Association (IWGA) received more than 1.2 million votes and ran for almost a month from January 8 to February 1.
With this prestigious accolade, it is evident that Nicol has not only earned the love and support of Malaysians but also of sports fans from all over the world.
"I wish that squash will continue to grow and getting the recognition it deserves in years to come.
"This award shows that squash has a place to do great things and I know it will keep shining always," Nicol told The Vibes when she was contacted.
Nicol added that she hopes to use squash as the basis of her foundation that she is in the midst of developing.
"I want to empower the girls and boys through the values of the sport. Squash has given me so much and I hope that more children can gain these strong values and life experiences that I can share in their programmes," Nicol concluded.
Between 2005 and 2017, Nicol won three gold medals as well as a bronze medal at The World Games and had a remarkable nine-year reign as World No. 1 while winning eight World Championship titles.
Nicol is considered by some to be the greatest woman squash player of all time as her notable achievements include the Asian Squash Championship, which she won a record nine times.
Nicol has also won the WSA Player of the Year on seven occasions, from 2005–2010 and in 2012. She was also voted as the greatest squash player of all-time in the women’s category by fans in polls that were conducted by the Professional Squash Association (PSA) in 2018.
At the same time, Nicol was appointed United Nations (UN) Development Programme Ambassador for Malaysia in 2002. ─ The Vibes, February 3, 2021.
