8th world title not enough, says Nicol
There is no stopping Malaysia's squash legend Datuk Nicol David.
After making history with her eighth Women's Squash Association (WSA) world title three days ago, the squash queen from Penang is already eyeing more.
When asked if eight was enough, the 31-year-old replied: "Nothing is enough."
"As long as my body is still willing and the desire to win is still there, I don't think I want to stop," she told the media shortly after landing at the Penang International Airport this morning.
Nicol now has her eyes set on what she described as an exciting 2015, with prize money for the WSA Championship nearly doubling.
The promoters of the 2015 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions (ToC), which will be held from January 16 to 23 at New York's Grand Central Terminal, confirmed earlier this month that the total prize fund for the WSA Championship next year will be increased to US$118,000 (RM413,000) to ensure parity for participants.
"It is going to be exciting with the prize-money going up, making the amounts more equal for both men and women's squash, and the merging of the Professional Squash Association and WSA.
"It is making a statement to the Olympic committee that women and men in squash are united as one," she said, as the squash athletes await the committee's decision in coming weeks on whether the sport will make the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Home in Malaysia for the holidays for two weeks, work will soon begin for Nicol early next month as she gets ready for a tour of about 10 tournaments in 2015.
The big ones to watch out for, she said, were the ToC, British Open, US Open and World Open.
Reviewing her achievements in 2014, David said she still has difficulty believing that she won her eighth title.
"I have to watch the video, look at the pictures to believe I actually got through it," she said, telling the media that it had been tough for her.
"It was probably the worst in Penang. It made me take a step back and review what happened. My coach and I never take losses lightly.
"It (the defeat) gave us more drive to push and train harder... after that, I was in my best shape," she said, referring to her disappointing defeat in front of a home crowd at the Women Squash World Championship in Penang this year.
Last Sunday in Cairo, David claimed the 30th WSA World Squash Championships, winning her eighth world title. No woman squash player has won as many to date.
She also became the first player to lose the world title and regain it within a year. Her title slipped when she lost in Penang in March this year.
She bounced back and last month, recorded 100 consecutive months as world number one, an achievement that would be hard to outdo.
Nicol first won the title in 2005 in Hong Kong and then in Belfast, Northern Ireland the following year. In 2008, she got her third in Manchester. She then went on to win the women squash crown four years in a row from 2009 to 2012.
Apart from the title, 2014 had been a big year for David. She also bagged the British Open crown, gold medals in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Incheon Asian Games. She won second plane in the Women's World Team Championships in Canada earlier this month.
David has also been named the Female Olympian of the year by the Olympic Council of Malaysia. She said it had been special going out there as a Malaysian to compete and winning her eighth title was the best experience she would ever have.
"I knew I worked hard and that it was my time to shine. I didn't want to let it go so easily... I can't really out it in a storyline, or set it up as dramatic as it was. It just happened in such a way nobody could plan.
"This year is really one of my best years," she said with her proud parents Desmond and Ann Marie David seated next to her at the press conference.
Sungai Pinang assemblyman Lim Siew Khim, who represented the state government in welcoming her home, said Nicol was an inspiration to all Malaysians and her success would spur other athletes to work hard to perform well at home and abroad.
"She has certainly made Malaysia and Penang proud." – December 24, 2014.
