Simply the Best
Malaysian squash queen downs Grinham to keep world title. Malaysian sports superstar Nicol David has done it again. The world number one and defending champion succeeded in retaining the women’s World Squash title at the Ulster Hall in Belfast on the 26th November 2006. It was hard work for Nicol as she had to fight back in a dramatic final to become the first Malaysian athletic to win a world championship title for the second consecutive time.
Nicol, who became the first Asian player to win the title last year, took 98 minutes to defeat fourth-seeded Australian Natalie Grinham 1-9, 9-7, 3-9, 9-5, 9-2. The match was played in a glass court, which was set up in the historic Ulster Hall, which was built in 1862 with a huge classical English organ in the background. Nicol had her parents, Desmond and Ann Marie, a handful Malaysian students from Queens College and officials of the Malaysian Embassy among the crowd to cheer her on to victory. And she did not disappoint the Malaysians who turned up to support her.
A disappointed Grinham felt that she tried her best but it was just not enough to prevent Nicol from claiming the title. Nicol’s efforts in the championship was worth US$17,000 while Natalie received US$11,500. Nicol’s next assignment will be the Doha Asian Games.
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