The Little Dynamite, Women's Squash Queen.



Nicol David, Women's Squash Queen
Pic by kamalselle

The player they once called "the little dynamite" is the undisputed women's squash queen. Born in Penang on 26th August 1983, she started playing squash at the very young age of five. Both her sisters Lianne and Cheryl were also playing squash at the national level but it is she who would go on to become the squash queen she is today.

Her precocious talent was first spotted by Ee Phoeh Hoon and nurtured under the auspices of the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia.

From 1999 onwards, Nicol David began achieving one of the many "firsts" in her squash career. In that year, he won the World Junior Championship title at the age of 15, the youngest ever to do so. In 2001, she managed to win the title again for the second time, the first ever junior to win the title twice.

In 2000, Nicol turned professional and within only one month won her first WISPA ( Women International Squash Players Association ) title at the Savcor Finnish Open.

Among the other many titles she won such as the British Open and Asian Squash Championships, she has won the World Open five times in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010.  Nicol has also been named the WISPA player of the year for six consecutive years from 2005-2010!

When she won her first World Open title in Germany in 2005, she was only 21 years, the youngest ever winner for a World Open. And when she was first named the world women squash player of the year in 2003, at age 23, Nicol was the first Malaysian and first Asian to be so honoured.

At one time, Nicol went 51 matches undefeated from March 2006 to April 2007 when she finally lost to Natalie Grinham in the 2007 Seoul Open.

For her efforts and in recognition of her achievements, Nicol was awarded the Order of Merit ( Darjah Bakti ) or D.B by the King in 2008, the first ever recipient of the honour. Then in July of the same year, she was conferred a Datukship by the governor of Penang, again the youngest such awardee in the state.

Nicol had also been appointed  United Nations' national goodwill ambassador of Malaysia in 2004.

Her latest win was at the recently concluded CIMB Open in Kuala Lumpur where she said that her her biggest challenge this year was to win the World Open title for a record six times.

If she manages to do so, and there is no reason why she can't, this will be another "first" and another feather in the cap for her.

Arsene Wenger Should Just Shut Up Or Deliver

Here we go again! Despite struggling against West Brom to salvage a point and now five points behind leaders Manchester United, Arsene Wenger says that Arsenal will win the league title.

That is one too may times Wenger has been saying the same old thing every time Arsenal squander a chance to catch up to MU.

Arsene Wenger should just shut up or deliver. Even as an Arsenal fan, I am getting fed-up of hearing the same old bravado. Either deliver or shut up!

Or better still, it may be time for Wenger to exit.

Having got that off my chest, I still hope Arsenal will finally make good. But for this to happen, Walcott and Fabregas have to recover quickly to rejoin the team and the forwards should try not to be so profligate at goal, otherwise Arsenal can bid goodbye to their season.

Arsenal Have Wasted Another Golden Opportunity

My worst fears have come true! Arsenal just managed to hold West Brom 2-2. When will Arsenal learn not to squander away chance after chance to catch up with Manchester United?

Now Arsenal are 4 points behind MU who themselves beat Bolton 1-0. This means that Arsenal are now four points behind the leaders with one game in hand.

I am afraid Arsenal are going to rue their profligacy. One just can't afford to to throw away the chances that come along, at least not at the rate Arsenal do.

I don't foresee that Arsenal are going to do any better as the remaining games in the Premiership come thick as fast now as the season comes to a close, not unless Theo Walcott, Fabregas and the rest of the crocked recover quickly from their injuries to to help out.

But even with Fabregas and Theo Walcott  recovered and back in the fray, Arsenal will have to step up their game a notch or two to have any decent chance at the only trophy available to them.

Will they be able to do it? That is the 64,000.00 dollars, or shall I say pounds, question on the minds of Arsenal supporters and fans.

Potential Hero To Zero?

Now, Arsenal have only the English Premiership title to fight for, having lost to Birmingham in the Carling Cup, Barcelona on aggregate in the Champions League and Manchester United in the FA Cup in quick succession.

Will Arsenal's season unravel quickly now as it was often the case in the recent past as the season came to a close?

If it does, it is just more of the same, early promise and a "sizzling out" toward the tail-end of the season.

What is it about Arsenal that they cannot sustain a good run?

Arsenal regularly have crucial players injured toward the end of the season.

This time it is influential players like Fabregas and Theo Walcott. Now, Jurou is the lastest on the crock list.

Without Fabregas and Walcott Arsenal lose their shape and do not pose a threat to their opponents.

In my opinion, the loss of Walcott is more damaging . Without him, Arsenal lose someone who can inspire fear in the opponent's defence with his speedy runs.

Of course, Arsenal' style of play has become too predictable and opponents have learned to cope with it, sometimes massing the defence with players which makes it very difficult for Arsenal to score especially since Arsenal players prefer to pass the ball to death even when there is a clear opportunity to put the ball into the net.

This, I believe, has often been the reason Arsenal have not done as well as they should.

Arsene Wenger should really rethink strategy, tactics and formations.

But I am afraid old habits die hard and it may just sound the death-knell of Arsenal's remaining challenge this season.

Steven Howard Barking Up The Wrong Tree?

Steven Howard's (of The Sun) lashing out at the English FA for its five-match touchline ban on Ferguson for the latter's tirade against referee Martin Atkinson in the match against Chelsea recently is uncalled for.

It is true that referees sometimes make horrendous mistakes, but this is part of the game. And it must be remembered that Alex Ferguson has hit out at referees once too often when decisions do not go his way and got away scot-free once too often too.

When decisions go in his favour Alex Ferguson  keeps his peace.

Come on, the English FA surely is not perfect but in this case Ferguson deserves the ban and in my opinion more.

Congratulations Chong Wei!

Congratulations is due to Datuk Lee Chong Wei for successfully defending the recently concluded All-England badminton championships by beating his nemesis Lin Dan of China.

Although Chong Wei is the top badminton player of the world, his record against the Chinese badminton ace is rather poor having lost more times to the Chinese than winning.

So, going into the finals of the All-England badminton championship, few had given the Malaysian a chance. especially seeing that he had just lost to the Chinese ace in the Korean Open prior to the All-England.

But in the All-England finals, Chong Wei played a brilliant tactical game to outwit his nemesis beating the Chinese in straight sets 21-17, 21-17.

There was really little to choose from between the two in terms of skills, but what clinched the game for Chong Wei at the All-England was his mental strength and determination to win and a belief in himself , something often lacking in Chong Wei in the past when he faced Lin Dan.

I am also glad to note that Chong Wei did not try to engage Lin Dan at the net, preferring to bid his time in rallies and going for the kill at the right times and mixing up  his game with clever drop-shots and pin-point placements of the shuttle.

Chong Wei's superb skills in retrieving the shuttle even when at times it looked impossible probably wore out the Chinese ace who began at times to look frustrated and at a loss as to what to do.

The question now is whether Chong Wei can sustain his good form and go on to defeat his nemesis in the future and show Malaysians that he indeed is the better of the two.

There are two important championships coming up, the world championships in August  this year and the Olympics next year in London both of which no Malaysian has ever won.

If Chong Wei can maintain his form and win both the world championships and the London Olympics he will go down in history as one of the most successful badminton players not only in Malaysia but also the world and this would be a fitting tribute before his intended retirement after the London Olympics.