Welcome 2009!

Here is a lil something we would like to share for the new year.

Who are you? Lessons From A Minitature Railroad

By Shawn Patton
Originally Published June 2008

Who Are You?

Are you an active member?
The kind that would be missed
Or are just content
With your name upon the list?

Do you attend club functions
And mingle with the crowd?
Or would you rather stay at home
And complain both long and loud?

Do you give a little time
And help to make things click?
Or leave the work to the few
And whine about the clique?

There is quite a lot of work
Which means success if done
And it can be accomplished
With the help of everyone

So think it over member …
Are you right or wrong?
Are you an active member,
or do you just belong?

Thank you for all of your support throughout 2008. We had a phenomenal year of success. We accomplished many important goals, worked with many incredible people, and set the stage for our biggest expansion ever.

May this new year bring you all the enthusiasm and will power you need, to lead you to a path of great achievements, happiness and contentment.

We wish you a GREAT year ahead!

-Azuan, Lorraine and the entire NDOnline team.

http://www.nicoldavidonline.com/

ESPN CoC Finals: Nicol David vs Manny Pacquiao

Nicol is in the Finals!!!
VOTE HERE NOW!!!



How to VOTE
-Use multiple windows
-Use multiple tabs
-Click on the 'vote' button not one but a few times (it works!!)
-Keep refreshing, and clicking! Click, vote! Click, vote!
-VOTE AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT

How to HELP PROMOTE
-Blog about it
-Post in forums
-Tell your friends-Forward emails
-Add a short message on your Live Messenger display name
-Import Notes and Links to your Facebook profile
-Talk about this in your Facebook Status
-Join Facebook Groups and Pages- squash and Malaysia related, and post on the Walls encouraging people to vote for Nicol.

Nicol worked hard all year round, so its time we did something for her.

A Summary of Nicol's Achievements in 2008:
-completed her 2nd full calendar year(24 months) as WORLD NUMBER ONE
-Won 10 WISPA titles
-Extended her unbeaten Tour record to 53 matches
-Won the WISPA Player of the Year Award
-Won the Outstanding Young Malaysian Award
-Honoured with the Order of Merit AND the title 'Datuk'
-Carried the Olympic torch relay ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Let us treat this as a Christmas present for our dear Datuk Nicol!


VOTE HERE NOW!!!

Match 11: Nicol David vs Cristiano Ronaldo -- VOTE NOW!!

Nicol (or her fans) overcame Jamaican Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt to reach Match 11, where she now faces Man Utd's Cristiano Ronaldo.


Voting is NOW OPEN so vote!!!

How to VOTE
-Use multiple windows
-Use multiple tabs
-Click on the 'vote' button not one but a few times (it works!!)
-Keep refreshing, and clicking! Click, vote! Click, vote!
-VOTE AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT

How to HELP PROMOTE
-Blog about it
-Post in forums
-Tell your friends-Forward emails
-Add a short message on your Live Messenger display name
-Import Notes and Links to your Facebook profile
-Talk about this in your Facebook Status
-Join Facebook Groups and Pages- squash and Malaysia related, and post on the Walls encouraging people to vote for Nicol.

Nicol worked hard all year round, so its time we did something for her.

Let us treat this as an early Christmas present for our dear Datuk Nicol!

VOTE HERE NOW!!!

Vote for Nicol NOW!!!

The ESPNStar Champion of Champions 2008
Match 6: Nicol David vs Usain Bolt is now open for voting

VOTE HERE: http://www.espnstar.com/games/champions-2008/game/

Nicol is the only Malaysian, squash player and female athlete to be nominated.

So everyone, please help spread the word about this. Blog about it, post in forums, tell your friends, forward emails, import Notes and Links to your Facebook profile, talk about this in your Facebook Status Update, and please bookmark the link given above.

Lets spread the word.

A Summary of Nicol's Achievements in 2008:
-completed her 2nd full calendar year(24 months) as WORLD NUMBER ONE
-Won 10 WISPA titles
-Extended her unbeaten Tour record to 53 matches
-Won the WISPA Player of the Year Award
-Won the Outstanding Young Malaysian Award
-Honoured with the Order of Merit AND the title 'Datuk'
-Carried the Olympic torch relay ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Nicol worked hard all year round, so its time we did something for her.

Let us treat this as an early Christmas present for our dear Datuk Nicol!

Update: Nicol is through to the next round against Cristiano Ronaldo. Updates when Match 11 opens.

VOTE FOR NICOL on ESPNStar's Champion of Champions 2008!

Choose Your favourite Sports performer from 2008. From November 28th, ESPNStar alongside SportsCenter India, Asia & Malaysia, and Score Tonight will be conducting a joint initiative Online and On Air to decide the Sports Personality to have made the biggest impact on sport in the calendar year 2008.

The criteria for selection are that the "nominee" should have made an "impact" on sport during the year 2008. It is not solely a performance related vote. It is your vote that will decide who wins.

..So Vote for Nicol David!!!
http://www.espnstar.com/champion-of-champions/


Watch this interview Nicol had recently with ESPN Nokia Football Crazy

Squash champs Shabana and David's success formula

By Jenny Coutinho
From www.merinews.com

SUSTAINING AT the top is a Herculean task in any sport. Squash is no different. Current world number one Egyptian Amr Shabana in the men’s section and Malaysian Nicol David in the ladies have been adopting different approaches to the games to keep themselves on the top perch.

Shabana, who recently lost in the World Open championship in Manchester, England to fellow Egyptian, Ramy Ashour in the semi-finals, treats every game as an important match of his life

"I treat every match as an important match. I stop thinking that I am the top ranked player when I step on the court and I try to keep it simple. I keep reminding myself that I have to stick to the basics of the game."

But then doing the same thing again and again for several days and months, is not an easy thing. Shabana too finds that some days, he lacks the will power and commitment.

"Sometimes, I don’t find the will power to go out there and deliver. I’m sure everyone goes through that, but then I, remind myself that I have been in a blessed position of being the World No1, a position which many are trying to snatch from me. The thought of holding on to the top position, eggs me on to give my best."

But then his status as the undisputed leader at the top is facing a threat. It is a position which he continues to hold for the last 31 months. A six-month break from tour meant that he lost a number of points.

"From January to May I took a break from the game after many years. It is likely to affect my ranking in the coming months. I am eager to do well in the all the upcoming tournaments, to maintain my top billing. I had to choose between my new born baby and Squash. I choose to be with her. Sometimes the family has to come first and here I fell for it. I might have to give away my long running reign for that."

His greatest strength he says is his determination to reach his goal and will overcome everything else to reach it.

"What ever goal I set I make sure I achieve it at any cost. That has been my strength all through."

Women’s world number one David, who is having an un-interrupted spell of 27 months as the top, tries to forget that she is the world number one to keep the pressure off.

"The moment you start thinking that you are No. 1 you are putting yourself in a pressure situation. The best is to expect anything to happen when you enter the courts and everything will fall in its place."

"It feels great to be there at the top. It is challenging to keep to your position. I do not go into a match with a game plan. I try to gauge the opponent’s moves. Force the opponent to make mistakes. Try and add a thing or two to your game to keep the opponent guessing."

And success motivates her to add to the titles she has already won so far.

"Success motivates me to do well and when you set your tournament targets and win it. It further keeps the adrenalin pumping."

Pakistan squash will rise: Nicol David

MANCHESTER, England: Malaysia’s world number one Nicol David believes Pakistan can regain their lost glory in world squash but need to be patient with their talented yet inexperienced players.

David, who is a hot favourite to regain the women’s World Open crown here, told ‘The News’ in an interview that she is quite impressed with the skills and talents of Pakistani youngsters Farhan Mahboob and Aamir Atlas Khan.

“Players like Farhan and Aamir can do really well in the future,” said David, nicknamed the “Duracell Bunny” because of her speed and durability.

Farhan, the reigning Pakistan number one and Aamir crashed out of the second round of the World Open squash Championship here at the Sportcity earlier this week.

It was yet another disappointing end for the Pakistani campaign in a World Open — a title that almost became their property in the glory days of legends Jahangir and Jansher Khan.

Critics back in Pakistan believe that the country’s chances of reviving its lost glory in squash are almost over but David believes that they should show more patience.

“Players need time to become the best. What I believe that Farhan and Aamir are really good but will only realise their potential once they get the required experience.”

David won the Women’s World Junior title in Belgium in June 1999 and then became the first player to claim the title for a second time — beating her Egyptian rival Omneya Abdel Kawy in the final in her home town of Penang two years later.

Since then she has scaled dizzying heights on the international circuit. Her achievements at the world level have inspired a whole generation of young Malaysians and has made squash one of the most popular sports in her native Penang.

David is confident that squash has a great future not just in Malaysia but in all of Asia. “Squash is one of the fastest growing sports in our region and I’m sure more and more players will start joining it in Asia in the coming years,” she stressed.

She pointed out that squash has made great strides in places like Hong Kong, Singapore and India and hoped that Pakistan will also soon make a successful comeback at the top.

David is hopeful that squash will make the cut for the 2016 Olympic Games.

“Squash is a great sport and it’s my dream that it joins the Olympics,” said David who has also served as a World squash federation (WSF) ambassador in its campaign for squash’s inclusion in the Olympic Games.

“It’s every squash players dream to compete in the Olympic and win a medal for his or her country,” she said. “I would love to represent Malaysia in the Olympics and win a medal there.”

David said that even if she retires before competing in the Games, she will continue to campaign for squash’s inclusion in the Olympics.

She is very confident about her chances of winning back the World Open crown. “I’m playing really well here,” she said. “It’s the World Open and I’ve trained hard for it. Hopefully I’ll win here.”

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

To all Malaysians celebrating Hari Raya, we say Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir & Batin.

Kepada Muslimin dan Muslimat, semoga Lebaran ini dipenuhi rahmat dan kebahagiaan untuk kita semua, dan semoga bumi Malaysia terus dikurniakan keamanan dan kesejahteraan.

From all of us here at NicolDavidOnline, Thank You for your continued support.

Squash360.com Dunlop Competition

Dunlop is giving you the chance to win the Official World Squash Championship's Racket!

All you have to do is answer: 'Where in England is the training base of World number 31 ranked player Sarah Kippax'

If you think you know where Sarah's club is, then please send your answer to: squash360@gmail dot com

Winners will be announced during the Hi-Tec World Squash Championships in October.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Jericho Squash Commandments ... Thou Shalt Not

From Jericho Tennis Club
With thanks to Shauna Flath

THOU SHALT NOT…

1. Arrive late to your match, leave the court without thanking your opponent & shaking han

ds, or fail to buy beer(s) when in a losing position.

2. Challenge your opponents’ retrievals or “gets” or neglect to call your own double bounces, out of court shots, and carries.

3. Wear street shoes on a squash court or wear squash shoes outside.

4. Shout or curse on court or in ear shot of your opponent &/or hit your racquet on the wall or floor.

5. Expect a let/stroke without requesting a let, hit a bad shot & ask for a let, or repeatedly fail to clear.

6. Stall excessively between points & between games.

7. Hit more than 50% of the warm up shots to your side of the court (max 2 shots and hit to opponent).

8. Employ an excessive swing, and neglect to attempt to reduce it.

9. Leave towels, old grips, food wrappers or other refuse outside the court.

10. Wear perfume, cologne or unwashed smelly clothes on court.

11. Both players must be present to access the court when the court is occupied.

Visit: Squash360

Datuk Nicol David interview with Football Crazy

Exclusive from NicolDavidOnline.com

Malaysian Nicol guns for Olympic inclusion

Squash has every reason to be part of the Olympic Games, Nicol David says, and the world number one plans to muster all her influence to ensure that outcome.

The International Olympic Committee will decide next October whether up to two new sports will be included in the 2016 Games and squash along with golf, rugby, karate, baseball, softball and rollersports are in full election mode.

Malaysian Nicol lobbied hard but unsuccessfully in 2005 for the sport's inclusion at London 2012 and is determined to see squash admitted next time round.

"It's very disappointing not having squash in the Olympics because it's the pinnacle for any athlete in every sport to be associated with the Olympic Games," the 25-year-old told Reuters.

"I say squash has every reason to be amongst the other racket sports in the Olympic Games and I'm sure in the future hopefully squash will get that opportunity."

Tennis, badminton and table tennis all feature in the modern Olympics.

Olympic inclusion would help squash gain the funding it needs to progress, Nicol said.

"Hopefully, if squash gets into the Olympics, more countries will have the proper backing from their sports councils to get funding for the sport itself in their country," she said in an email interview.

CAREER HIGHLIGHT
"We also need a lot more media attention and to make it (more) visual on TV for people to follow the sport."

Nicol on Sunday won her seventh consecutive Women's International Squash Players Association (Wispa) title with victory in the Dutch Open final in Amsterdam.

She said it was possible to make a living from the sport.

"It's reasonably fine for the top 20 players to work with the prize money from tournaments but funding from the government and sponsors are essential to keep maintaining their position in the rankings for the rest of the other players outside the top 20.

"At the moment every squash player is doing their part in trying to promote the sport and to gain recognition in the world."

Playing in the Olympics would cap a remarkable career.

"That would be truly the highlight of my career ... representing Malaysia in the Olympics and being among the best athletes in the world in their respective sports," Nicol said.

Happy Birthday Nicol!

The idea of sending a birthday gift from the fans at NicolDavidOnline.com to Nicol David has been around for quite some time. 10 years ago, myself and a few fans made arrangements with Hitz.fm (at that time Hitz FM) Morning Crew (at that time lil kev and fly guy if I’m not wrong) to wish Happy Birthday to Nicol on-air.

And now 10 years later, the distance factor between Malaysia and Netherlands has limit us to only a few options as far as sending a gift for her birthday. We thank all the fans for many great suggestions and ideas that we received and finally we decided to keep it simple and order flowers online. You can’t go wrong with flowers, can you?

A day before her birthday, WMsiew and myself went online to scout for “Orange-looking Tulips” to reflect the colour of our ‘Home’ (NicolDavidOnline.com). We ended up getting these flowers:



The order form:



We have requested the florist to take photos of the flowers with our message on the card but unfortunately after ordering, the florist went into silent. Few emails went unanswered and that explains why I got worried and feared that the flowers will never arrive.

The good news came in this morning when Nicol herself, went to our Fan Forum and left a message that is very identical to our wishes on the flowers’ card. “From Azuan, Wei Mei and ffans at NicolDavidOnline.com”. We have verified that the below “Nicol” is really Nicol David :) Ladies and Gentleman, congratulations for all your hard work and loyalty to NicolDavidOnline.com, Nicol appreciates it!



Let us all continue to be active and plan for more future activities! Cheers all

Changing Malaysia: Athletes

The Star's Merdeka Special focuses on Malaysian athletes and the Government's efforts in encouraging them to pursue sports. Two-time world squash champion Nicol David and rhythmic gymnast Brenda Yap share their views with Rajes Paul.

Colours of Sweat by Hasnee A. Rahman

Hasnee A. Rahman started painting elaborate pictures at the tender age of 9, a time when most of his friends were playing catch.

Now 46, the artist can look back on a prolific career in art.

The public can visit an exhibition of his works, themed "Colours of Sweat", at the New Straits Times Press Bhd main lobby from Aug 4 to 29.Aside from displaying Hasnee's great artistic skill, the exhibition also highlights his other passion -- sports.

"This particular theme depicts not only my love for sports but also the struggle I endured throughout my life to become an artist," said Hasnee, who dabbled in 13 professions before settling on his main love of art 10 years ago.
Hasnee has excelled in both art and sports as he represented Malaysia in cycling at the Asia Cycling Championship and the World Junior Cycling Championship in Italy.

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, he finished seventh out of 40 contestants in the "Olympic Art and Sport" competition.His series of "sport paintings" is now among the permanent collection of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Hasnee's pieces in "Colours of Sweat" will be retailing for between RM3,000 and RM77,000 each.

Datuk Nicol at the launch of CIMB Cafe Banking

CIMB Bank Bhd plans to invest RM3 million to RM5 million over the next two years to roll out 10 more “eat & bank” cafe outlets in the Klang Valley, Penang and Malacca.

Its head of consumer sales and distribution, Sulaiman Mohd Tahir, said the 10 cafe banking outlets will offer a new banking and dining experience to its customers.

“It will cost us RM300,000 to RM500,000 to set up a branch depending on the location and size,” he told reporters after the launch of CIMB Bank’s first cafe banking outlet in partnership with premier white coffee producer, OldTown White Coffee, in Kuala Lumpur today.

Sulaiman said CIMB Bank’s cafe banking will offer customers the convenience of carrying out their banking activities and enjoying the experience of having their OldTown White Coffee meals or drinks in one location.

The outlet was launched by squash champion Datuk Nicol David, CIMB Group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak and his wife Datin Seri Azlina Aziz as well as OldTown White Coffee’s managing director, Lee Siew Heng.

Related: CIMB to invest RM5mil in cafe banking outlets
CIMB plans 10 cafe banking outlets

"Little Fans" congratulate Datuk Nicol David!

Nicol David Fan Activities - http://nicoldavidonline.com/

A group of 'little fans' from Pre-school SK Bandar Damansara 1 showed their creativity by creating DIY "Congratulation Cards" for Datuk Nicol David. NicolDavidOnline.com is proud to share the cards and photos from the activity. Many thanks to Ms Azza. Click here to view the full size photos and cards.

CIMB Malaysian Open 2008 Report

Exclusive from NicolDavidOnline.com

The CIMB Malaysian Open 2008 was held at the National Squash Centre, Bukit Jalil and The Curve Damansara from 23rd to 26th July 2008. As we are all aware of, Nicol David successfully defended her title by beating World Number 2, Natalie Grinham 11-1,11-4, 11-6 in a 31-minutes final.

Being a home tournament, NicolDavidOnline.com fans were there to witness world-class squash throughout the tournament. During the finals myself, and the website Editor (and heartbeat!) of the site, Ms Lorraine Siew along with other fans were there to cheer for Nicol. We had fun witnessing the easy win and meeting with each other.

Here are some photos exclusively provided by 1880 Photography for NicolDavidOnline.com. Many thanks to the photographer.

It was a fully packed arena on the finals. Tickets were sold out an hour before the first match.




Tickets were sold at the venue and cost RM30. We were told that RM30 will be for grandstand seating which has the best view. Programme book and the ticket.



The Men’s final was an all-Malaysian affair and despite this fact, it was an entertaining 5-set thriller with Ong Beng Hee winning the game with some nice shots throughout the game. Kudos to both players



A satisfying win for Ong Beng Hee



Then it was the time everyone was waiting for. Nicol David vs Natalie Grinham.


Natalie Grinham waiting for her turn to get into action


The crowd turns wild when Nicol was introduced! Some familiar faces in the crowd.


Some of the fans!




Some of the photos from the game. Too bad we were seated at the side of the court since the grandstand was fully occupied. I share the disappointment of many fans who paid the same amount of ticket price only to be given seats with poor view. I was seating just in front of the crowd who stands outside the area and pay absolutely nothing. Definitely an area to be improved in future tournaments here in Curve.





Easy lead. Nicol never let Natalie to get in front of her in terms of scoring.


End of 1st set






2nd Set



3rd Set..GAME OVER!



….and it was over. Natalie accepted the defeat in a very positive way! Kudos for still being able to smile.



The Champion


Tired look


Some other expression of a champion








That’s all from this year’s CIMB Malaysian Open. We hope to be able to deliver similar coverage for other tournaments through NicolDavidOnline. Let’s hope SRAM will allow us some good seats or media pass for future tournaments. After all having 200+ visitors/fans a day visiting the website can’t be bad for Squash development in Malaysia.

Cheers!

p/s: NicolDavidOnline is starting to accept suggestions for Nicol David Birthday Gift. Talk to us!