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Squash: Nicol lends a hand to Wee Wern

By AFTAR SINGH

KUALA LUMPUR: World number one Nicol David will lend a helping hand to Low Wee Wern’s bid to win the prestigious British Junior Open title.

Wee Wern, the Asian junior champion, is the top seed of the girls’ Under-19 competition of the Open, which will be held in Sheffield from Jan 2-6.

The 18-year-old has not won any of the Open’s age-group titles. Her best achievement was a runner-up finish to Camille Serme of France in the Under-19 competition last year.

In contrast, Nicol is the only Malaysian to have won five age-group titles and her last was claiming the girls’ Under-19 crown in 1999.

The 25-year-old Nicol said that expectations were high on fellow Penangite Wee Wern to win the title this time, now that she is the top seed.

“Wee Wern has improved a lot and I am sure she will challenge strongly to end her title drought in the British Junior Open. I will be more than happy to help her with practice matches in Penang to fine tune her shots and boost her confidence,’’ she said.

Nicol has had her most outstanding season this year since turning professional in 2000. She competed in 10 tournaments on the Wispa (Women’s International Squash Players Association) circuit and won all of them. She also took her unbeaten run since November last year to 53 matches.

In her last tournament early this month at the women’s world team championships in Cairo, Nicol helped Malaysia maintain their third placing.

Meanwhile, Nicol welcomed the “Gatorade Sweat Test”, which was conducted on her at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

Nicol said that she appreciated the benefits of the test and how it could help her improve on her performance.

“As a professional athlete, I always want to find the extra advantage that can help me perform better,’’ she said.

“With the experience, I believe that the sweat test will help me understand the effects of hydration on my performance. Proper intake of fluids plays a large part in maintaining optimum physical fitness.

“Reaching the world number one spot was never easy. However, maintaining that position sometimes can be a lot harder but with this new hydration plan, I believe it will give me an added edge for my competitions next year.”

Nicol is expected to play between 10 and 12 tournaments on the professional circuit next year.

Star

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