NICOL ANN DAVID was born in Penang on Aug 26, 1983.
Voted women’s “Greatest Player Of All-Time” in poll conducted by Professional Squash Association (PSA) in 2018, Nicol held the world No. 1 spot for a record 109 months consecutively from 2006 to 2015.
The eight-time world champion officially retired at the end of the 2018/19 PSA season in June.
Heralded as Malaysia’s most successful Asian Games athlete with seven gold medals (including two in team championship), Nicol won her first World Junior Championship title at the tender age of just 15 in July 1999.
Two years later she becomes the first player to win World Junior Championship title twice.
In early 2005 she was awarded the Young Female Player of the Year and later that same year the Women’s International Squash Players Association (WISPA) Player of the Year.
She also won her first World Open title in the same year.
Nicol received international attention following her success in 2005, and in January 2006 she was officially ranked the No. 1 female player in the world – a status never before held by an Asian woman.
Her second consecutive World Open title capped a 2006 campaign in which she won six championships.
She excelled further in 2007, securing seven titles and another World Open crown.
She captured 10 titles during an undefeated 2008 season and began a 56-match winning streak that spanned 17 months.
Nicol secured seven more titles in 2009, including her fourth World Open; she defended that championship in 2010 as part of a nine-title campaign.
In the following season she earned seven more championship titles, including a record sixth World Open crown.
During that tournament, Nicol was inducted into the World Squash Federation Hall of Fame and declared the 12th “legend” of the sport.
Among her other achievements, Nicol was conferred Datukship by Penang and received the Order of Merit – Malaysia’s highest honour – both in 2008.
