A file picture of Nicol celebrating her Asian Games gold medal win in Palembang, Indonesia on Aug 26, 2018. The 35-year-old and eight-time world champion announced her retirement on Feb 19, 2019 after an illustrious career spanning over two decades. – Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian squash queen Nicol David has called time on her squash career after 20 years.
The 35-year-old and eight-time world champion will officially retire at the end of the 2018/2019 Professional Squash Association (PSA) season in June.
"After more than 20 years playing squash for Malaysia, competing on the professional tour and achieving the utmost best from my career being the only Malaysian athlete to achieve these accolades and to be recognised as the greatest female squash athlete of all time by my peers, I can proudly say that I am ready and happy to announce my retirement at the end of this seasonal tour," said Nicol.
"This is a moment that every athlete must go through – to explore fully on what more there is in store for them. I am now at this point in my life, ready to take on more beyond the pro tour.
"This decision has been thought through for quite some time and I do know this is my last season.
"My mind and body have battled it out to stay at the very top of my game for such a long time that I feel that I only have this last big push left for the final season to give it all I have before I enter the next phase of my life," she said on Monday (Feb 18).
Her announcement comes before her participation at the World Championships in Chicago, the United States from Feb 23 to March 2.
The Penangite ends her illustrious career with 81 PSA titles from 102 finals.
She also held the world No. 1 spot for a record 109 months consecutively from 2006 to 2015.
