At the Opening Dinner of the Asian Junior Squash Championships in Colombo, the Sri Lanka star – who has taken 800 Test wickets and over 500 in One Day internationals – was presenting a Friend of Sri Lankan Squash award to Indian World Squash Federation President Mr N Ramachandran.

“I’ve played squash and was particularly impressed with just how hard it is physically – the top athletes must be super-fit,” said Muralitharan.  ”Perhaps I might give it a go when I finally retire from cricket in order to stay fit myself!”

“I’m told my wrist action might make me a very difficult player to read on court!”

“I’m very happy to be linked with the bid by such a fine sport to gain a place as a summer Olympics medal sport,” concluded the revered cricketer.

Thanking him, Mr Ramachandran responded: “Both our sports have World Cups beginning shortly, and while we look forward to looking out for your results and you keep an eye on the Sri Lankan team effort in ours, we are grateful that we can all look towards the biggest possible prize for any squash player, participation in the Olympic Games.“

Malaysia’s Nicol David marks another significant milestone in her illustrious career by celebrating her 58th month as world number one in the new February Women’s World Squash Rankings published today by the Women’s International Squash Players’ Association (WISPA) – equaling Australian Michelle Martin‘s status as the player with the second-longest world number one reign of all-time.

Undefeated throughout 2010, David first topped the rankings in January 2006. After dropping to second place for just four months, the 27-year-old from Penang reclaimed the top spot in August of the same year – and has held it unopposed since then.

Michelle Martin, a six-time British Open and three-time World Open champion, first topped the rankings in March 1993 in a reign which ended in December 1999.

But it is New Zealand’s Susan Devoy who has the ultimate record to beat: 105 months in pole position between April 1984 and February 1993.

England’s Jenny Duncalf continues to shadow David in second place in the February list, ahead of fellow countrywoman Alison Waters at three, Egypt’s Omneya Abdel Kawy in fourth place, and Australia’s Rachael Grinham at No5.

But celebrating a first time at No6 is Australia’s Kasey Brown. The only triple medallist in the sport at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Brown made a great start to the New Year by winning the biggest Tour title of her career at the Harrow Greenwich Open in the USA, where she was seeded four.

And the sport’s latest teen sensation Amanda Sobhy also reaches an all-time high by making the fringe of the top 20 at number 21. The 17-year-old world junior champion from the USA claimed one of the biggest scalps of her life in Greenwich by beating former world No2 Natalie Grinham to reach the semi-finals as a qualifier – then defeated Kasey Brown this week in Cleveland to make the quarter-finals of the Cleveland WISPA Classic.

1 [1] Nicol David MAS                       3340
2 [2] Jenny Duncalf ENG                  1706
3 [3] Alison Waters ENG                   1283
4 [4] Omneya Abdel Kawy EGY     1243
5 [5] Rachael Grinham AUS            1146
6 [7] Kasey Brown AUS                    1044
7 [6] Madeline Perry IRL                1010
8 [8] Camille Serme FRA                    818
9 [10] Laura Massaro ENG               770
10 [9] Vanessa Atkinson NED         742
11 [11] Raneem El Weleily EGY      700
12 [12] Annie Au HKG                        608
13 [13] Low Wee Wern MAS             558
14 [18] Joelle King NZL                      528
15 [14] Jaclyn Hawkes NZL              508
16 [15] Samantha Teran MEX          493
17 [16] Donna Urquhart AUS          465
18 [17] Nour El Tayeb EGY              444
19 [19] Isabelle Stoehr FRA            387
20 [22] Delia Arnold MAS                381

For the complete WISPA ranking list, see www.wispa.net

Nicol, on top of the world.

Malaysia’s Nicol David begins her sixth year as world number one this month, according to the new January Women’s World Squash Rankings published today by the Women’s International Squash Players’ Association (WISPA).

The dominant force in women’s squash first topped the rankings in January 2006 – and, after dropping to second place for just four months in the year, is now celebrating her 57th month as world No1.

After her now regular early New Year training session in Melbourne with Australian legend Sarah Fitz-Gerald, 27-year-old David will return to World Tour action at the WISPA Gold Cleveland Classic in the USA on 30 January.

England’s Jenny Duncalf continues to shadow David in second place, ahead of fellow countrywoman Alison Waters at three, Egypt’s Omneya Abdel Kawy in fourth place, and Australia’s Rachael Grinham at No5.

Annie Au

But lower in the list, Annie Au celebrates a career-high No12 ranking – and becomes the highest-ranked player from Hong Kong of all-time, moving ahead of former Asian Games champion Rebecca Chiu, who reached a best-ever 13th place in October 2007.

Au, a 21-year-old student at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, scored her biggest Tour title last month, winning the $20,000 Seoul Open in South Korea.

Malaysian Low Wee Wern, who was runner-up in Seoul, also marks a career-best ranking this month – rising two places to No13. The 20-year-old from Penang followed her 11th WISPA Tour final appearance in Korea by reaching the last eight of the Punj Lloyd WISPA Masters in Delhi.

And Egyptian teenager Nour El Tayeb continues her relentless surge up the rankings by moving to a best-ever 17th place. The 17-year-old from Cairo jumped from outside the top 30 into the top twenty last month to become the youngest player in the elite list.

January top 20 (inc. points average):

For the complete WISPA ranking list, see www.wispa.net

If anyone had asked me how this year would have been with everything on the line, I wouldn’t have had an answer to that. Up til now when everything is finally over, I can say that I’ve done the best I can achieve for this year.

7 March: Winning my first Chennai Open title, giving a good start to the year.
14 March: The launch of my official website www.nicoldavid.com at Flo in Hotel Equatorial with close friends and sponsors.
20 March: Followed up with a win in Kuala Lumpur at the CIMB K.L. Open.
17 April: Cayman Islands hosted a superb Gold event with a glass court at Camana Bay and I won my second title there.
4 May: The Malaysian Team headed back to Chennai for the Asian Championships. A win in the Individuals for me but a tough loss in the semis for the Women’s Team.
17 July: Winning the Malaysian Nationals for the first time.
24 July: A CIMB Malaysian Open win and the beginning of a busy second half of the season.
31 July: A glass court was set up in Singapore for the CIMB Singapore Masters. A win there and another in the Battle of the Sexes II. A nice highlight beating the guys this time!
5 August: The launch of the Nicol David International Squash Centre (NDISC) - the training centre I started playing squash in (formerly known as Penang International Squash Centre). It was a very emotional moment for me.
29 August: Another Hong Kong Open win, keeping this country as my favourite place to compete each time around.
2 September: ASICS created my very own personalized squash shoes.
22 September: The World Open win in Sharm El Sheikh was an incredible achievement for me, having won my 5^th World title.
12 October: The Commonwealth Games Gold medal truly felt good in my hands and the Mixed Doubles Bronze with Beng Hee added an extra bonus for us.
24 October: Mexico’s first Gold event, (Torneo International Bicentenario) and winning at a higher altitude was a new experience plus a spectacular setting in Toluca for the occasion.
12 November: Winning back the Qatar Classic title made it a special moment for me.
25 November: Double Asian Games Gold medals for both the Individuals and Women’s Team showed our growth as a team in just a few months.
4 December: The finale of the year with the Women’s World Teams 3^rd placing after Australia and England certainly topped the billing for us.

It was hard to believe that from the CIMB Malaysian Open up til the Women’s World Teams, all tournaments were played in a span of 5 months. At one point, I thought I would have never made it through but I have a fantastic team behind me every step of the way with my training, travelling and most importantly, mentally and emotionally. My family who gives me the most support and love while my friends who are always around, keeping my spirits high.

The true joy overall for me is meeting such wonderful people through squash and the appreciation I’ve received after my wins and successes that I would never imagine happening to me. Here’s to more memories to cherish in 2011!

Happy New Year!

At home, enjoying my mummy's cooking!

The first round saw me drawn against Siti Munirah of Malaysia. Unfortunately, I had fallen ill the day before the event with fevers and stomach cramps but I decided to continue to play. I believe there are no excuses when you walk onto a squash court and if you do, you deem yourself 100% fit. I wanted to conserve as much energy as possible but Siti played well pushing me to win 11/6, 12/10, 11/8. That night was a bit of a struggle as I was up most of the night sick and woke with little left in my system.

Playing Dipika Pallikal

I decided to keep playing and in the quarters I was drawn against the local favourite, Dipika Palikal. My stomach would only allow me to eat a couple of pieces of bread with jam so I knew I had to play well to get through. I started off well and I sensed Dipika felt uncomfortable moving to the glass court as she made some unforced errors. However in the 3rd and 4th, she began playing more confidently and levelled the match at 2-2. Although feeling a bit flat, I wanted to get a good start in the 5th and got to a 7-0 lead which got me over the line winning 11/5, 11/5, 7/11, 7/11, 11/5.

In the semi final, I was drawn to play a very smart and talented Annie Au who defeated Jaclyn Hawkes in the quarters. I was able to eat more that day (which I was very excited about) but knew I would have to play tight to beat Au. I have never beaten Au and knew I had to get to a good start which I was able to do, going up 2-0. However, I knew that as the ball died down, it would suit Annie’s lobs and drop game and she played some great rallies winning the next 2-2. Again I saw myself at this score line and wanted to get a good start. I tried to get back on court quickly and warm up the ball to stop Annie’s effective game plan. I helped but I was down 5-8 in the 5th but clawed back to win the match 11/6, 11/9, 4/11, 2/11, 11/8.

In the final, I came up against World Number 2, Jenny Duncalf. She had been playing very well in the lead up to this event and I knew I had to be on top of my game to win. Unfortunately, the previous games had taken it out of me a bit and I was not able to get on to the ball as quickly as I would have liked. Jenny is a very talented player and this meant she had time to move the ball around, which kept me chasing and didn’t allow me to set up winning rallies. Duncalf was moving well and despite my attempts to come back in each game, I lost 5/11, 5/11, 4/11. Jenny played well and deserved the win.

I was very pleased to make the final of the event and I would like to thank Punj Lloyd for their support for the women’s tour. I hope that this tournament continues to be bigger and better each year.

Kasey Brown xx

Made it to the finals!

The venue, usually reserved for boarders and BMX’ers, was taken over by England’s elite players for an exhibition of trick shots, skills and games in front of passersby, media and local school children.

Squash rackets are plaguing London—on advertising billboards, shop fronts, lampposts and trees, indeed anywhere they will stick!

“It was very exciting to play outdoors and demonstrate just how fast-paced and entertaining squash can be. Squash is a sport that requires huge amounts of fitness and skill but this event was all about appealing to a younger audience and getting new and different fans for the sport” said Nick Matthews, currently world number 1 and double Commonwealth gold medallist.

The Queens Club – Home of Racquet Sports

Squash fever is beginning to grip the capital in the build up to the Super Series Finals in January at Queen’s Club, renowned as one of the premier racquets clubs in the world. 2011 will not only be the 125th anniversary of the Club but will mark the second anniversary at the Club of the most important squash championship on the PSA tour – the World Masters Super Series squash finals. The Queen’s Club will once again see the top eight male players in the world competing at the four-day event from 11 – 15  January 2011.

Visitors can see the whole historical evolution of squash laid out within the confines of a single Club, is a natural environment for the world’s most prestigious squash tournament.

The Finals will take place in an iconic inflatable structure, specifically created for the show-piece event. Inside the structure the ‘Z-Court’ will contain the very latest in squash viewing enabling uninterrupted 360° views of the action. The purple glass court features innovative lighting and natural flooring, and combined with the new coloured ball has been specifically developed to capture the speed of the game on camera and produce the best quality viewing experience.

The event also includes an exhibition match between Laura Massaro and Jenny Duncalf as well as the introduction of court cleaners who double up as dancers bringing a feeling of a theatre to the Squash event and creating a superb atmosphere.

Players – Men:
Ramy Ashour
James Wilstrop
Peter Barker
Amr Shabana
Nick Matthew
Karim Darwish
Thierry Lincou
Wael El Hindi

Players – Women:
Jenny Duncalf
Laura Massaro

The complete draw can be found at  http://www.worldseriesfinals.com/matches/

Hurry on and purchase your tickets at http://www.seetickets.com/Tour/ATCO-PSA-WORLD-SERIES-FINALS

Grand Central

The world’s leading players will be honoured at the sixth annual World Squash Awards which will take place in the stunning Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal, New York, on Thursday 20^th January 2011.

This year’s awards, founded in 2005 by Eventis Sports Marketing and endorsed annually by the World Squash Federation(WSF), the Professional Squash Association (PSA) and the Women’s International Squash Players’ Association(WISPA), will be presented by Lexington Partners and take place the night before the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions takes centre stage in the same location.

As well as embracing the PSA and WISPA Players of the Year, in acknowledgement of the North American location, this year’s awards will also honour the top new player & doubles team from the ISDA, the American hardball doubles tour.

Amongst the favourites for this year’s PSA Male Player of the Year will be world No1 Ramy Ashour & PSA World Open champion and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Nick Matthew, while Malaysia’s World Champion & World No1 Nicol David looks like favourite to maintain her stranglehold on the women’s award.

The glittering gala evening will be hosted by Peter Nicol MBE and John Nimick, and it has already been confirmed that special guest Frank Stella will be in attendance to collect one of this year’s awards. World-renowned artist Stella was instrumental back in the early 80s for the conversion of hardball singles to softball squash, which paved the way for the squash boom in the USA.

Peter Nicol MBE, Director of Eventis, said:  “We were delighted when the opportunity came up to partner with Event Engine and its signature event the “ToC” on the World Squash Awards and to take it to such a stunning famous location.  Players have loved playing on the glass court there for many years and it is a fitting venue for the awards as we look to expand their profile.”

Individual tickets or tables can be booked by anyone wishing to attend and Nicol goes on to explain: “We always see the event as the chance for people from all walks of squash to get together, and the great thing about taking the event to New York is that this year it will involve a whole new raft of individuals who we are sure will have a great evening and help it grow in stature.”

The WSA will precede the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions, which is the first PSA World Series event of 2011, and will take place on the all glass court built in the Vanderbilt Hall for the week.

The categories and past winners of the World Squash Awards are:

PSA Male Player of Year – 2005 Thierry Lincou, 2006 and 2007 Amr Shabana, 2008 James Willstrop, 2009 Karim Darwish

PSA Young Male Player of Year – 2005 James Willstrop, 2006 and 2007 Ramy Ashour, 2008 Omar Mosaad, 2009 Mohamed El Shorbagy

WISPA Female Player of Year – 2005 Vanessa Atkinson, 2006-2009 Nicol David

WISPA Female Young Player of the Year – 2005 Raneem El Weleily, 2006 Tenille Swartz, 2007 Camille Serme, 2008 Annie Au, 2009 Nour El Sherbini

WISPA Female Most Improved Player of the Year – 2005 Alison Waters, 2006 Nicolette Fernandes, 2007 Shelley Kitchen, 2008 Laura Lengthorn-Massaro, 2009 Camille Serme

Services to Squash Award – 2007 Dicky Rutnagur, 2008 Jim Quigley, 2009 Andrew Shelley

Lifetime Achievement Award – 2005 Jahangir Khan, 2006 Jonah Barrington, 2007 Heather McKay, 2008 Geoff Hunt, Azam Khan and Hashim Khan, 2009 F.D. Amr Bey

Information about the dinner, is available from Melissa Winstanley at Melissa@EventEngineSports.com or Tim Garner at Tgarner@eventis-sports.com

Duncalf Blitzes Brown To Become WISPA Master

England’s Jenny Duncalf justified her top seeding in the Women’s Punj Lloyd WISPA Masters in India by beating second-seeded Australian Kasey Brown in today’s final of the inaugural $36,500 WISPA World Tour squash championship at the Sirifort CWG Block in New Delhi.

Both players had survived hard-fought five-game semi-finals – Duncalf coming through against rising French star Camille Serme and the New South Wales-born Australian stemming a fightback by up-and-coming Hong Kong player Annie Au.

But world No2 Duncalf was in sparkling form in the final against an opponent who beat her in October’s World Open in Egypt, romping through to beat Brown 11-5, 11-5, 11-4.

“I’m extremely happy to have finished 2010 on such a high note by winning the Punj Lloyd WISPA Masters,” Duncalf told Indian media after netting the ninth Tour title of her career.

“It’s been a great tournament and one that I hope to be returning to in 2011. It’s been a tough year so I, and no doubt Kasey, will be looking forward to a relaxing festive period before knuckling down for more challenges ahead in 2011,” added the 28-year-old from Harrogate.

The Punj Lloyd Squash Masters 2010 is hailed to be India’s largest ever corporate initiative to develop and promote the sport of squash at the grassroot level in India. It comprises of a series of squash championships to be held across various age groups throughout India and will culminate in the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters and Punj Lloyd WISPA Silver Tour event.

Besides the US$ 192,500 Punj Lloyd PSA Masters for the top 32 international male players and the US$ 36,500 WISPA Silver Tour event for the top 16 international women players, Punj Lloyd Squash Masters 2010 will include a series of promotional squash tournaments namely Punj Lloyd Defence Services Challenge for all the armed forces and their training establishments, Punj Lloyd All India Inter-School and Punj Lloyd All India Inter-University Championships as well as the Punj Lloyd Corporate-Club Challenge.

Speaking on the occasion, Atul Punj, Chairman, Punj Lloyd Group, said, “The success of Punj Lloyd PSA Masters 2009, convinced me that with the right support, squash could gain mass popularity, which is why Punj Lloyd will ramp up its involvement in squash to now include tournaments at School and University levels besides those for the Defence forces and Corporates. Year 2010 will be truly memorable for squash and for India, which will see a grand finale of the buildup squash tournaments with two international series – the WISPA and Punj Lloyd PSA Masters 2010,” he further added.

India’s own Saurav Ghosal (World no. 22) and Dipika Pallikal (World no. 29), both of whom are sponsored by Punj Lloyd, and Jyoshna Chinnappa (World no. 36), will be the torch bearers for India at the Punj Lloyd Squash Masters.

Speaking on the occasion Saurav Ghoshal said, “With initiatives like Punj Lloyd Squash Masters, the younger generation from schools and universities will get an opportunity to play Squash at a national level. I am glad that Punj Lloyd has adopted a hands-on approach to develop the sport at grassroot levels. It is always a pleasure to play on home ground and with Punj Lloyd PSA Masters being held in Delhi this year, there is added excitement!”

Promotional tournaments has been played between the months of August and November, in an individual and team format, across New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, while the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters and Punj Lloyd WISPA Silver Tour event will be played in New Delhi starting from the 12th to the 19th of December 2010. The winners from each of the promotional tournaments will play in a pre-event of the PSA Masters and the WISPA in Delhi. Winners will also participate in the squash clinics of some of the leading players in the world and will get one- on-one instructions to better their game.

For more information, please go to www.punjlloydsquashmasters.com

Tickets can be purchased here!

Thanks Jarrod and Tasha!

After two days of traveling straight from the Asian Games in China to New Zealand; the whole Malaysian Women’s team were onto to our next task at hand—the Women’s World Teams Squash Championship 2010.

We arrived in Palmerston North Airport and a group of school children greeted the squash teams with a Haka. Each team was looked after by two Liaison Officers; ours were Jarrad and Tarsha, and they brought us back to the official tournament hotel at the Hotel Coachman.

The team settled in comfortably the first two nights before our first match started at the Gym Club.

Pool rounds (Hong Kong, Canada and New Zealand)

We came through well the first day with Hong Kong 3-0 and had a few close matches with Canada to win 3-0. New Zealand was the decider of our crossover match. Wee Wern and Delia were up first playing Joelle King and Shelley Kitchen respectively. After a tough battle, Joelle won 3-1 and Shelley stepped up beating Delia 3-0. As we were still in the pool stage, I had to play my match against Jaclyn Hawkes and won 3-0.

Quarter finals against Egypt

Against Omneya Abdel Kawy

Defending Champion Egypt was our crossover match and it sure was exciting. Raneem El Weleily was up first with Wee Wern. She powered on to beat Wee Wern 3-0 then I had to face Omneya Abdel Kawy to try and level the scores. After an hour of intense squash, I managed to win 3-1. Delia took on Engy Kheirallah and they kept us right on the edge. Delia brought on her ‘A’ game and Engy didn’t seem as comfortable during their match. Delia won the 5th game 11-8 to get us through to the semis. What a result beating the world champions!

Semi Finals against Australia

Australia had a power packed team and our team gave it our best to equal 1-1 having Sharon taking on former 5-time World Champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald and I beat Rachael Grinham. Delia came up against Kasey Brown but just couldn’t bring herself to keep up to the pace Kasey was enforcing. Delia pushed Kasey in the third but the Australian kept her cool to win 3-0 for a place in the finals.

3rd/4th Placing against New Zealand

It was another meeting with the New Zealand team and this time we were fighting for a place on the podium. The New Zealand team was a few points to the finals and just missed out against England. They had to play us the day after and everyone was starting to feel the week taking its toll. Sharon was playing Shelley and Shelley kept steady to win 3-0. I played Jaclyn again and winning my last match of the year, I was well relieved that I could get that point for our team. Wee Wern was back on with Joelle and she got the better of her in this match. Wee Wern came through for the team beating Joelle 3-1 and we finished third place for Malaysia.

Great team effort!

It was all team work from each of the girls and I would like to thank them for this opportunity to be part of a great team. We also had a lot of the Malaysian students and members of the High Commission from Wellington to give the extra support during the week. It made such a difference for the team to push through the whole week with the Malaysian cheering squad behind us.

This is the end of the year for me. A nice finale to 2010.

Thank you everybody for making this the best year of my squash career. Here’s to more great years to come!

Nicol

My photo album!