Skip to main content

Irving: Nicol’s total commitment towards her game is second to none


<b>Decade-long relationship:</b> Liz Irving (right) has been coaching Malaysia’s Nicol David for almost 10 years in Amsterdam.Decade-long relationship: Liz Irving (right) has been coaching Malaysia’s Nicol David for almost 10 years in Amsterdam.
PETALING JAYA: After training world No. 1 Nicol David for 10 years, Liz Irving believes that the Penangite is by far one of the most amazing athlete she has ever coached.
Nicol moved to Squash City, Amsterdam, at the tender age of 19 to train under Irving.
Since then, Nicol, now 30, has gone from strength-to-strength, winning a record seven world titles, and looks set to dominate the women’s squash scene for a long time to come.
And Irving believes that Nicol, with her determination and the discipline she puts into training, will have no problems playing until she’s 37 or38.
“Nicol and I have been working together for nearly 10 years. Not a single day goes by when she is unable to achieve her training goals,” said Irving.
“That itself, is quite remarkable and her total commitment towards her game is second to none.
“Her drive and passion for the game, her motivation to be the best she can be, is also very special and it’s a rare quality in any athlete.
“In terms of preparation and facing the occasional defeats, we are always assessing her on and off the court. She’s always extremely well prepared and the losses that she had are good learning experiences for her.
“It is rare though for her to lose but she always learns from them and picks herself up quickly. As for age factor, she is actually just entering her prime years in squash.
“Female players generally peak between 28-37, so she still has a good many years left. We will however continue to always look at how to make each year better.
“Nicol herself will continue to keep developing her game and every small improvement is big at this stage,” added Irving.


THE STAR

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ex-coach's jail sentence cut to a year

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal yesterday sentenced former athletics coach C. Ramanathan to 12 months' jail for molesting two junior athletes 19 years ago. A three-man bench led by Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus unanimously dismissed Ramanathan's appeal against conviction, but varied the jail sentence of four years to a year, which was to run concurrently. Following yesterday's ruling, Ramanathan, 75, a former teacher, walked out a free man as he had served 10 months in Kajang Prison. Convicts get one-third remission for good behaviour while in prison. However, he will lose his pension. Hishamudin, who sat with Datuk Abdul Wahab Patail and Datuk Linton Albert, said the court found no merit to overturn the conviction. "However, in reducing the sentence, we considered Ramanathan's age and the long years the appeal has taken." Deputy public prosecutor Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud submitted that then High Court judge Tan Sri Abdull Hamid E...
2 comments
Read more

Govt Always Gives Emphasis To Sporting Culture, Says PM

KUALA TERENGGANU, May 29 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badaw i said the government always gives emphasis on cultivating a strong sporting culture in achieving excellence at the international level. As such, the Prime Minister said, it was important to scout for young talents in sports. "I observe that the Malaysia Games (Sukma) has become one of the important platforms to do so. "In this arena, the potentials and skills of the youngsters can be identified for development so that they can achieve greater success in sports," he said in his message in the souvenir book of the 12th Sukma from May 31 until June 9. Abdullah said he was aware that competition in sports was very keen and challenging but this did not mean that Malaysian athletes were incapable of competing at the international level. "The fact is that we have all the characteristics required to be excellent. We must inculcate a strong fighting spirit so that we don't easily surrender,...
1 comment
Read more

Rajagobal Let Off The Hook

PETALING JAYA, April 24 (Bernama) -- National head coach Datuk K. Rajagobal was let off the hook by the Football Association of Malaysia's (FAM) Disciplinary Committee after finding no evidence that he had violated FAM's Article 88, as claimed. FAM Disciplinary Committee chairman Datuk Taufik Abdul Razak said the committee had decided not to charge Rajagobal after carefully analysing the video of the post-match press conference by the 56-year-old coach. "After listening to the recording of the post-match press conference, we decided to drop the charge against Rajagopal as he did not make such a statement. "Maybe his (Rajagobal) assessment and comments of the match was misconstrued by the media. There was no mention of the FAM policy throughout his comments," said Taufik after emerging from a three-hour Disciplinary Committee meeting at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, here, Wednesday. Rajagobal who does not mince his words when asked to com...
4 comments
Read more