KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- Emerging players from England and Egypt and veterans like the Grinham sisters of Australia and Natalie Grainger (USA) will most likely pose the biggest threat in national squash queen Datuk Nicol David's quest to remain as the world's Number One for the third consecutive year next year.
"I'm sure the English girls and Egyptians are hungry to dislodge me from the top," she told reporters when met at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil here Wednesday.
She noted that Allison Waters, Jenny Duncalf and Laura Lenghthorn-Massaro of England and Egyptians Engy Kheirallah and Omneya Abdel Kawy were rising fast judging by their recent performances.
Engy Kheirallah, ranked 23 in the Women's International Squash Players Association (WISPA) rankings, helped Egypt to win the Women's World Team Championship in Cairo last November by beating Waters (ranked 5) in the last game while Omneya, just entering the age of 23 next year, will be reaching her peak very soon.
"It's never comfortable when you are on the top, but that's the challenge I have to face. So, I'm looking forward to next year and intend to do what it takes to remain on top," added the 25-year-old Nicol.
-- BERNAMA
Saya setuju. We are working on more coaches! “ @ManOlimpik : Malaysian junior athletes are just too ‘lembik’ http://t.co/7D7wmHWaNy ” — Khairy Jamaluddin (@Khairykj) June 10, 2014 The benchmark. Can our junior athletes train as hard as Malaysia's world No.1 badminton player, Lee Chong Wei? “IT IS okay lah. The training is not too bad lah. I will try lah … Wah, so hard lah today.” These are some of the common statements I hear from our juniors nowadays. It is not only in badminton. It is the easy-going, laid-back attitude and lack of competitiveness at grassroots level that we have problems producing quality players. I have travelled quite a bit. After ending my decade-long career with the national team, I went to play in the league in Europe. It’s different there. The European athletes know what they want. And they do it with real focus. Even the young ones possess admirable self-control and show a high level of commitment. During my time in the ...
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