The rise and rise of Nicol David

PETALING JAYA: It was 30 years ago when a little girl from Malaysia went to Britain with big dreams.

It was 1996, she was just 12 and very few people had heard about her. And she was taking on the older girls in the British Open Under-14 tournament.

However, The Star’s squash writer Azmah Abidin held out hope. After all, the girl had won the Scottish Open Under-12 title two years earlier.

Azmah persuaded the editors to hold the paper till late - and just after 2am in Malaysia, the result came.

Young Nicol David had won the British Open. Azmah dashed out the story and it appeared in the final edition of the newspaper.

What happened after that is history - and historic.

Nicol, now Datuk Nicol David, went on to become eight-time world champion, the longest reigning World No 1, a squash icon - and one of the most famous Malaysians in the world.

Reflecting on her remarkable career, Nicol says some stood out above the rest.

“Winning my first World Championship title in 2005 in Hong Kong would be my first highlight. I was just 22 and reached my ultimate dream.”

Another defining moment was her triumph in winning her eighth World Championship title in dramatic fashion in Cairo.

“I was 2-1 and four match points down, and came back to win it. I’m also proud to have retained the world No. 1 position for nine consecutive years,” she said.

However, the little girl of 1996 still lives in her.

Since retirement, the former world No. 1 has become a mentor and advocate dedicated to creating opportunities for the next generation.

She is now the owner of Nicol David Organization (NDO) - geared towards helping the B40 community.

“My role took a full evolution, from focusing on my own individual performance to the best I can be, to now offering all that I have to the next generation and giving back to children and communities through my foundation by using the power of sport, education and mental health,” said Nicol.

“This is the most fulfilling place to be, knowing that I can create access for low-income children and families that may never have the opportunity to be able to reach their dreams, not just in sport but in education as well.

“My focus now is my foundation, and the mission is to reach, in our fourth year of operation, over 5,000 children in Malaysia who have been impacted through our programmes, and that takes me around the world.

“I would like to grow my foundation all around Malaysia and South-East Asia. That keeps me going and focused,” she said.

Nicol says that, throughout that journey, the media played a vital role in sharing her story with Malaysians.

As The Star celebrates its 55th anniversary, Nicol shared her appreciation.

“I’ve been very blessed to have been supported by the media throughout my career. If it wasn’t for them, maybe my success would be unknown to the nation.”

Nicol also said she hopes to see more spotlight on a wider range of sporting stories.

“Media plays a huge part in paving the way for athletes to be known but I still feel many stories don’t reach mainstream media, and we should try to diversify our media content,” she said.