One for the album: Datuk Nicol David poses with all the winners in the inaugural Nicol David Junior Open.
PETALING JAYA: Datuk Nicol David was only nine years old when she won her first junior title.
On Friday, the now 40-year-old legend and eight-time squash world champion was handing over medals to aspiring junior winners in the inaugural Nicol David Junior Open at the Jalan Duta Squash complex in Kuala Lumpur as the tournament debut with great success.
It's the first junior event hosted by Nicol and her foundation, the Nicol David Organisation, with the objective of developing and encouraging the talents from the grassroots in Malaysia.
A whopping 286 participants from all 14 states took part in the event, which hosted three categories - Under-9, Under-11 and Under-13 for both girls and boys.
“I played at this same squash arena when I was nine years old for my first national junior tournament and it’s so surreal to now see children like me battling for every point and putting so much effort in their matches," said Nicol.
"I feel so proud of the development of talents in Malaysia and I know we have a future Olympian in the making in this tournament.”
This event was organised by the Nicol David Organisation with the support of the Youth and Sports Ministry, Yayasan Hasanah, Yayasan Sime Darby, Coway Malaysia, AIA Malaysia, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, JD Sports and Dunlop.
