Rising star: Jabeur swarmed by fans on arriving at the Tunis-Carthage International Airport in Tunisia. — Reuters
NEITHER of the Wimbledon singles champions were my preferred candidates. I have nothing against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, but the signature drop shots by Tunisian Ons Jabeur are awesome to watch.
Her first name also makes for a more efficient supporting chant – “Come Ons!” – but it wasn’t enough this time, and it will have to be another occasion when a Grand Slam is won by a Muslim, Arab and African woman.
As for the men’s competition, my loyalty to Roger Federer requires opposing anyone else besting his number of Grand Slam singles titles. Unfortunately, Rafael Nadal now has 22 and Novak Djokovic has 21, but Federer’s 20 includes eight Wimbledon titles, which is still the record for that championship on grass.
This time, though, Djokovic’s opponent was the unorthodox – critics will say overly dramatic – Nick Kyrgios, whose Malaysian heritage from his mother’s side activated some inner Jalur Gemilang at the Centre Court.
Some will argue that a tenuous link to one’s country is not a reason to support someone, but the inspirational effect of a sports champion on young compatriots cannot be understated. While Malaysian tennis is improving slowly but surely, with the two bronze medals in Hanoi being our first haul of more than one in the sport at a SEA Games, Malaysian badminton and squash have benefitted from icons to catalyse the next generation of players.
In this regard it was extremely gracious of Datuk Nicol David, who was the world number one female squash player for 108 consecutive months – an astonishing feat for any sport – to attend and support the finals of the Tuanku Muhriz Trophy in Seri Menanti on July 2.
Both finals of this PSA Challenger Tour event (bringing prize money and points towards world rankings) saw lower seeded players beat the number two seeds – Aira Azman from Kedah beating Egypt’s Salma Eltayeb in the women’s game and India’s Abhay Singh beating Ivan Yuen from Penang in the men’s.
Alongside the final matches were doubles exhibition matches played by Nicol, young Negri Sembilan players, sponsors and myself to help raise money for both Negri Sembilan squash and the Nicol David Organisation. The young players were all inspired by Nicol growing up, but their competitive spirit still prevailed as they made her work hard for the points!
As president of the Negri Sembilan Squash Association for over four years now, I’ve been amazed by our coaches’ ability to instil the spirit of competition and respect among the kids, who themselves don’t seem to be aware of their own power to inspire. They train together on court, compete very hard when competing against their mates, but then still maintain respect for each other afterwards.
This is particularly important as squash is truly a multi-racial sport, in comparison to some other sports which are (at least perceived to be) dominated by one race. It encapsulates perfectly the lesson – oft-quoted by the Father of Independence Tunku Abdul Rahman – that the best way to instil shared citizenship and belief in the rule of law is to ensure young Malaysians of all backgrounds play more sport.
That’s another advantage of having courts in rural areas – it creates opportunities for more kids from B40 households to play – and indeed many of our top players come from humble backgrounds. Of course, another key ingredient in this is good management of facilities and development by the ministry and sports associations, but sadly politics (of both the party and personal kinds) can hinder that too.
What I envy most about our young athletes is that their journeys are easily tracked by explicit achievements – winning competitions, getting prize money, moving up the rankings, receiving sponsorships and constantly eyeing the next prize.
In commemorating birthdays recently, I was giving some thought to milestones after a certain age, when one’s journey has become unique and highly individual to the extent that comparisons are not easily made, one inevitably questions available assessments of success, especially when cynics and social media trolls abound. The greatest asset then becomes trusted family and friends: those who remind one of weaknesses and of personal challenges, point out which achievements should be treasured, and to be grateful for opportunities in a world that can be volatile and cynical.
Those things can’t be measured, and nor can the multiplicative effects of creating opportunities for others, too. In sport and other sectors, when alumni return to their communities and give back, the resultant virtuous cycle of positivity creates the foundations for milestones – individual and societal –that may or may not ever be reliably measured. No matter, the genuine feelings of gratitude and the possibility of nurturing future champions is reason enough to pursue it!
Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin is president of Persatuan Squash Negri Sembilan. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.
