Skip to main content

Nicol Buka Langkah Kanan Untuk Kejuaraan Kelapan Dunia

GEORGE TOWN, 18 Mac (Bernama) -- Ratu skuasy negara Datuk Nicol Ann David memulakan misi memburu kejuaraaan kelapan Kejohanan Wanita Dunia CIMB ke-29 apabila melangkah ke pusingan kedua di sini malam ini.

Pemain nombor satu dunia itu menepati ramalan apabila hanya memerlukan masa 36 minit untuk menyingkirkan pemain bukan pilihan dari England, Emma Beddoes 11-9, 11-5 dan 11-8.

"Penonton memang hebat...terima kasih atas sokongan anda," kata Nicol, 30, yang teruja untuk menghadiahkan kejuaraan dunia untuk peminat di tempat kelahirannya di sini.

Nicol merupakan juara dunia sebanyak tujuh kali iaitu pada 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 dan 2012.

Pada pusingan kedua, Nicol akan berdepan dengan pemain berusia 23 tahun, Heba El Torky, Khamis ini selepas pemain Mesir bukan pilihan itu mengejutkan pemain pilihan ke-11 Annie Au.

Heba mengalahkan pemain veteran Hong Kong itu dengan keputusan 13-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-8.

Dalam satu lagi saingan pusingan pertama, pemain nombor 19 dunia, Nicolette Fernandes dari Guyana bangkit daripada ketinggalan dua set untuk menyingkirkan pemain nombor 15 dunia Rachael Grinham dari Australia.

Ketinggalan 4-11 dan 6-11 tidak mematahkan semangat Nicolette, 30, untuk bangkit semula sebelum mengatasi Rachael dengan 12-10, 11-8 dan 11-7 dalam pertarungan selama 63 minit.

Dalam pada itu, pemain nombor dua negara Low Wee Wern, yang juga pemain nombor enam dunia, dan pemain amatur negara Vanessa Raj, yang layak ke undian utama atas tiket 'wildcard' akan memulakan cabaran esok.

Wee Wern, anak kelahiran Pulau Pinang, akan berdepan dengan pemain Australia, Donna Urquhart manakala Vanessa bertemu pemain nombor dua dunia, Laura Massaro dari England.

-- BERNAMA

Comments

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...

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...

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,...