Kudos Penang for a job well done

KUDOS to Penang for an extremely good job in the smooth running of the 29th Women’s World Championship.

Who would have thought that the state was actually organising an event of such a magnitude for the first time?

The organising team, led by Thomas Chan, Penang coaches Aaron Soyza and Khoo Teng Hin as well as several Squash Racquets Association of Penang (SRAP) officials, just about managed to pull off a near-perfect world meet.

Of course, it would have been perfect had Nicol David made the final and won.

Every player I spoke to – from newly-crowned world champion Laura Massaro (who also happened to be the happiest finalist I’ve ever met), to Nour El Sherbini, the fiesty Nicolette Fernandes and the really media-friendly Joelle King – was happy and grateful to have a world meet to compete in.

With this being quite a rush job, obviously there are a few issues which need to be looked into so that squash can continue to grow here – and globally.

First on the agenda is the distinct lack of live coverage for a world championship.

I know that they had only two months to plan – from the day it was first announced – the tournament, which means a small window for the organisers to try and secure one of the national TV stations for coverage.

If the idea was to get the fans to turn up in droves at the SPICE Arena, then they certainly hit the bull’s-eye judging by the 4,000-strong crowd for the final, even though Nicol was not in action.

But still, it’s disappointing that none of the TV stations in the country jumped at the opportunity to air the world meet.

How then are we supposed to inspire the next generation of squash stars if the kids can’t catch their idol – Nicol – live on TV?

Which brings me to my next point – livestream.

The organisers certainly provided livestreaming for the event but the quality was not of the highest order, with lots of complaints from squash fans overseas and the players who left early.

But the fact that the organisers did, although they did not have to, is commendable already.

Malaysia also needs to ask itself what it needs to do to help the growth of squash, especially after watching 18-year-old El Sherbini make the final in extraordinary fashion.

One more thing that needs to be looked into urgently is the issue of sponsorship.

Now, CIMB has done an amazing job supporting squash, but should it be the only one sponsoring squash events?

There are so many major private sector firms out there and more effort needs to be put in to get them on board.

We may not need a world meet event or a US$70,000 (RM231,000) Malaysian Open tournament every month, but if we had more silver events – with prize money ranging from US$25,000 (RM82,500)-US$35,000 (RM115,500) – at least there’s an opportunity for the public to come and see what squash is all about.

The extra tournaments and extra purse will surely provide an extra motivation for the players.

But, for now, Penang deserve all the plaudits for surpassing all expectations in hosting the 29th world meet.