KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s squash queen Datuk Nicol David showed why she is world number one when she stomped her supremacy in front of home fans to claim her eighth Kuala Lumpur Open title here yesterday.
The top seed in the newly-promoted Women’s Squash Association (WSA)-sanctioned competition outclassed Hong Kong’s Annie Au in straight sets 11-4, 12-10 and 11-9.
“It is the finals and it was really a close match before winning the title. No doubt, Annie was playing the court very well. Playing against those emerging players like Annie, you can expect the kind of games in the final.
“To win this title for the eighth time was just amazing, but to win the competition with my name on it was something really special. After the match ended, I felt very emotional,” said Nicol.
This year, CIMB Group, as the title sponsor, have decided to rename the CIMB Kuala Lumpur Open to CIMB Nicol David KL Open to honour Nicol’s contribution to the nation.
Her previous victories came in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. Nicol pocketed US$11,400 and the coveted trophy, while Annie as the runner-up took home US$7,800.
Meanwhile, Nicol will skip the 16th Asian Team Championship to be held from May 1 to 5 in Kuwait to prepare for the British Open scheduled on May 13-20.
Her next assignment will be the British Open (May 13-20) but will miss the 16th Asian Team Championship to be held from May 1 to 5 in Kuwait due to tight schedule.
“This year, the Asian Championship is very pretty close to the British Open and it is unfortunate that I have to miss the competition this time. I’m
sure our team (Malaysian squad) is strong enough to push the other team,” said Nicol.
In the men’s final earlier, Omar Mosaad defeated England’s Adrian Grant in a gruelling five-set encounter which lasted for 112 minutes to clinch the Egyptian’s first KL Open title.
The win is Omar’s second for the 2012 season.
“It was a really tough match. From the begining of the competition, I’ve been playing in long and tiring matches. However, I’m glad that I’m in good physical condition,” he said.
He pocketted USD8,075 and a trophy while Adrian received USD5,525 as runner-up. — Bernama