Nicol David and Amr Shabana secure fourth consecutive titles in Hong Kong

By Rod Gilmour
From Telegraph.co.uk

World No 1's Nicol David and Amr Shabana won their fourth consecutive Hong Kong Open titles after two compelling finals.

David, the Malaysian who is now unbeaten since the 2007 World Open, beat Australia's Rachael Grinham 3-1 and stretched her winning run to over 50 matches on her way to the title.

Three years ago, David became the first Asian woman to win the World Open title after defeating Grinham in an easy win."You are now more famous than me" was the Malaysian Prime Minister's response.

David hasn't looked back and has since seen off any threat to securing titles with consummate ease. However, she had to work harder against the Australian at the picturesque Harbour location.

After winning the first game 14-12, David then lost a close second 11-13 before coming through the next two 11-8 to hail Hong Kong as "my lucky charm".

Shabana, of Egypt, had a much tougher encounter and looked in trouble at 2-1 down against rival Frenchman Gregory Gaultier but came back powerfully to win the last two games in just 14 minutes.

The world No 1, who had dropped games in each of his games prior to the final, managed to keep the trend going as Gaultier levelled at 1-1 before bagging the next to lead 2-1.

Shabana picked his game up in the fourth and with Gaultier trying to save himself for the decider, the Egyptian closed it out 11-2. But the Egyptian wasn't going to let a fourth crown go begging and wrapped up the 76-minute win minutes later.

"It doesn't get any harder than that," admitted Shabana afterwards. "I'm so happy to win my fourth title. That's an amazing feeling and for that I have to thank God."

World Class Field to be Featured at Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Squash Open 2008

Once again, fans will be treated with world class squash when the annual “Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Squash Open 2008” takes place at the world’s most vibrant city in November.

Presented by Hong Kong Squash with the full support of Cathay Pacific, the sporting extravaganza will be held from November 17 to 23 at the Hong Kong Squash Centre in Central and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza in Tsim Sha Tsui.

With a winning purse of HK$1.6 million at stake, the world’s top 30 players will certainly be ready to compete for the prestigious men and women’s titles. Current world no. 1 and last year’s champion, Egypt’s Amr Shabana, world no. 2 and last year’s runner-up French Gregory Gaultier, new world champion Egypt’s Ramy Ashour and Asian Games gold medalist, Malaysia’s Ong Beng Hee have confirmed their participation in the men's event.

While the women players including current world no. 1 and 3-time world champion Malayia's Nicol David, world no. 2 & 3 Aussie's sisters Natalie and Rachael Grinham also confirmed their participation to this world “Platinum Series” event.

To showcase the beautiful view of the Victoria Harbour, the tournament will be staged at the Tsim Sha Tsui water front when entering the semi-final stages. Matches will be held in a state-of-the-art glass court erected at the HK Cultural Centre Piazza, with the grand Harbour as its natural backdrop. A big screen will also be set up at the Piazza where people visiting one of the world’s busiest shopping areas can take a break and enjoy some world class sport.

The qualifying draws will be staged on 17 & 18 November, offers local players 11 places in the women’s and 8 places in the men’s event while Asian Games Medalist Rebecca Chiu Wing-yin together with the wide-card holders including Annie Au Wing-chi, Christina Mak Pui-hin and Dick Lau Siu-wai will be entered the main draw.

The Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open, which is also supported by the Hong Kong government’s Major Event Sports Committee and is awarded “M” mark status, is always popular with the domestic and international squash community. A large contingent of players, coaches, families, fans and international media will be in Hong Kong in November to witness this spectacular event.

Cathay Pacific's Director Sales & Marketing Mr. James Barrington said: "We are happy to be lending our support once again to the Hong Kong Squash Open - a great event that provides an annual opportunity for local squash lovers to see the world's best players in action. This is the 23rd consecutive year for Cathay Pacific to support the event, which ties in with our ongoing commitment to make Hong Kong an even more exciting place to live and an even better place to visit. Hong Kong Squash has done a tremendous job organising the Open over the years and I am confident the 2008 event will be another resounding success."

Final Curtain: Nicol's 2008 Qatar Classic Win [Video]

Watch Nicol claim her third successive Qatar Classic title in Doha with a comprehensive victory over world No.2 Natalie Grinham, to the delight of the many Malaysian supporters in the Khalifa Squash Complex in Doha!

Ronald Fauvel taking a photo for Nicol- that's HER cell phone!

Quick..!! What model is it?!

Nicol with the Malaysian Ambassadors

Some of the Malaysian fans who were present to show their support!



For more videos of Nicol, click hereeeee

Darwish & David Qatar Classic Champions

By Afzal Mehmood Shaikh
QOC - Sports Editor
From Squash360.com

Defending champion and WISPA world number one Nicol David of Malaysia convincingly retained her Qatar Classic title defeating Natalie Grinham in Friday's final at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex.

The 25-year-old Malaysian ace, extended her unbeaten run of 53 matches with a flawless straight games win 11-6, 11-3, 11-9 in 29 minutes over the Dutch Grinham in $82,000 women's event.

"Everything came in well today, it was important to keep the momentum," said the Malaysian. "I felt confident with my shots and kept it simple, but sharp," revealed the three-time world champion.

David has been the dominant force in women’s squash since winning the first of her successive World Opens in 2005. However, the Penang-based star was a bit cautious after the semifinal match against Natalie Grainger, where she was made work really hard for a 3-1 victory.

"I took my chances earlier today, and kept the pressure on her (Natalie), didn’t wanted to do like what I done yesterday (Thursday) for a fightback," explained the WISPA 2008 player of the year.

In men's event, the underdog Karim Darwish shocked top seed and world no. 1 Amr Shabana with 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 triumph in 28 minutes in an all-Egyptian final.

To much of everyone's surprise, Darwish 27, who had earlier beaten world no. 2 Gregory Gaultier of France in the quarters, showed no mercy for the experienced Shabana's class.

The Cairo-based, 2007 Qatar Classic semifinalists Darwish, lauded Shabana's performance and was glad to win against the world number one and the top favourite in the $145,000 total prize money men's event."

It was a pleasure playing against Shabana, who is been one of the best players in the world and am happy to win the Qatar Classic 2008 title for the first time," said a visibly elated Darwish.

Final Results

Nicol David (MAS) bt Natalie Grinham (NED)
11-6, 11-3, 11-9 (29mins)

Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Amr Shabana (EGY)
11-4, 11-5, 11-3 (28mins)

David, Shabana inching closer to defend Qatar Classic titles

By Afzal Mehmood Shaikh
QOC - Sports Editor
From Squash360.com

Malaysian ace Nicol David and Amr Shabana of Egypt, the world number one on men's and women's tours respectively, made their cut to the finals of the 2008 Qatar Classic Squash Tournament at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.

Top seed David, got the better of Natalie Grainger of USA 11-6, 6-11, 11-9, 11-2 in Thursday's first WISPA semifinals and in front of Malaysian supporters, who turned out in masses to cheer the world number one.

"I was keen on working hard and improve my performance, every time I play," said the victorious 25-year-old, David. "She (Natalie) is experienced and a true competitor and I enjoy playing against her," added the Malaysian star.

Current WISPA ranked fourth Grainger, had nothing to complain, instead she praised David's performance and felt it is a nightmare playing against her in crucial matches.

"Nicol is a class act, when it comes to action, she is anyone's nightmare," explained the 31-year-old American. "Nicol is a great ambassador of the sport and is one of the greats in WISPA," claimed Grainger.

David's third World Open title triumph on October 19, puts her on a select list of former greats who have won the world crown three or more times.

Having also reigned as the World No 1 for the last 27 months, Nicol added another accolade to her growing list of honours when she was named the WISPA Player of the Year at the 2008 World Squash Awards in Manchester.

In the other semifinal clash of the Grinham sisters, Rachael and Natalie, the younger of the two, Natalie, who started playing under the Netherlands flag from the current year, conquered the world no. 2, Rachael, 11-8, 13-15, 8-11, 11-6, 12-10 in a marathon one hour of play.

In men's semifinals, world no. 1 Amr Shabana of Egypt, got closer to defending his title after he outclassed Frenchman Thierry Lincou's 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 to meet his countryman Karim Darwish who beat Nick Matthew of England 9-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-6.

The two defending champions in men's and women's tours respectively are yet to make their presence count as they play in the final on Friday.

Men & Women's Semi-Final Results
Nicol David (MAS) bt Natalie Grainger (USA)
11-6, 6-11, 11-9, 11-2 (37mins);

Natalie Grinham (NED) bt Rachael Grinham (AUS)
11-8, 13-15, 8-11, 11-6, 12-10 (61mins)

Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Thierry Lincou (FRA)
8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 (52mins)

Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Nick Matthew (ENG)
9-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-6 (56mins)

Final Match-ups
Nicol David (MAS) vs Natalie Grinham (NED)
Amr Shabana (EGY) vs Karim Darwish (EGY)

Shabana, David in quarters

Spaniard Borja Golan, a surprise finalist at this year’s Internationaux de France in Paris, took yesterday a game from title holder Amr Shabana, but could not prevent the world number one from entering the quarter-finals of the 2008 Qatar Classic at the Khalifa Squash Complex.

On day two of the tournament, there were no major surprises in store as most of the seeds had an easy passage into the last eight stage in both the men’s and women’s sections.

The world number one who won 3-1, now faces 10th seed Peter Parker in the quarter-finals today.

Also making into the last eight stage in the men’s section, were current World Open champion Ramy Ashour from Egypt, fifth seed Thierry Lincou from France, seventh seed Nick Mathew from England, fourth seed David Palmer from Australia and last year’s runner-up Gregory Gautlier of France.

In the women’s event, title holder Nicol David from Malaysia faced no hiccups in her second round match against Engy Kheirallah, on her way into the quarter-finals, where she faces Alison Waters. Last year’s finalist Natalie Grainger of US too moved into last eight.

“I played much better today. I’m now looking forward to playing on the centre court. Playing on the glass court gives one a spectacular feeling. The crowd add to the excitement. Hopefully many Malaysians will come to cheer me on Wednesday,” said David, who won 11-5, 11-5, 11-2 against Engy Kheirallah of Egypt.

Egyptian Omneya Abdel Kawy, Laura Lenghthorn, Grinham sisters Natalie and Rachael and Madaline Perry all made it into the last eight stage in the ladies section.

Top seeds have it easy in first round

From the Gulf Times

Defending champions and top seeds Amr Shabana of Egypt and Nicol David of Malaysia eased into the second round of the Qatar Classic Squash tournament with convincing wins at the Khalifa Squash Complex yesterday.

Shabana defeated his Pakistani opponent Mansoor Zaman in straight games 11/2, 11/9, 11/4, while women’s reigning world champion Nicol David ousted England’s Dominique Lloyd-Walter 11-8, 11-7, 11-9.

The only time Shabana was stretched a bit was in the second game. A couple of unforced errors allowed Zaman level the game at 8-8 but Shabana regained his composure quickly to wrap up the game 11-9. The third game was more of a cakewalk for Shabana.

“These early matches are also tough as these qualifiers go all out knowing they have nothing to lose. However, a win makes you feel better,” said Shabana, who will meet Borja Golan of Spain in the next round.

David, on the other hand, faced some hiccups in the first and third games. She allowed Lloyd-Walter to take a 7-5 lead in the first game and was also trailing 6-5 in the third before staging a fightback.

“I would have liked to wrap up the match more convincingly but it is ok. I got a measure of her game once I engaged in long rallies. She went for her shots and I made my move,” said a pleased David, after the match.

She will now take on Engy Kheirallah of Egypt, who defeated Sharon Wee of Malaysia 11-9, 11-3, 11-7.

All eyes on world champion

Newly-crowned World Open champion Ramy Ashour from Egypt will be cynosure of all eyes here in Doha as he kick starts his campaign at the $145,000 2008 Qatar Classic, which begins at the Khalifa Squash Complex today.

Ashour, who beat compatriot Amr Shabana, the titleholder in the semi-finals and then overcame another Egyptian, Karim Darwish to win the World crown last week, takes on compatriot Omar Mosaad in the first round today.

Eight days back, Ashour became the first player to emulate Jansher Khan, the great Pakistan player of the eighties and nineties, by winning both the world junior and world senior titles.
Ashour knows the huge expectations he is carrying on his shoulders.

“I feel I have heavy weight on my shoulders. I want to extend my winning run. My target is to reach the final (in Doha). I do not want to let down my fans, who are supporting me. I know to maintain consistency is a difficult task, but I am in a positive mood,” he said while talking to The Peninsula yesterday.

Reigning Qatar Classc champion Shabana, who still has a hold over the world number one rank in spite of his World Open loss, is the top seed in Doha and will face one of the eight qualifiers today.

World number two, Gregory Gautler of France, who lost to Shabana in last year’s final, starts his campaign by taking on countryman Renann Lavigne, in a tournament where most of the top-20 players will be seen in action.

Also in the race for the top prize is David Palmer of Australia, who takes on a qualifier.

Meanwhile, James Willstrop of England and Mohammed Azlan Iskandar of Malaysia, who were seeded for the Doha event, are two players to have pulled out on account of injuries.

David determined to win

Recently crowned World Open champion Nicol David seeks to carry her consistent run of success into the 2008 Qatar Classic in a bid to retain the title she won last year, when the top-ranked player squares up to Dominique Llyod-Walter in the first round match at the Khalifa Squash Complex tomorrow.

The current World number one is fresh from World Open title, she won in England this month, which she was determined to regain after having lost her grip over it last year, to add to the titles she won in 2005 and 2006.

Nicknamed the ‘Duracell Bunny’ she had earlier regained the British Open title this year. The twin major titles which she had targeted before the start of the season.

However, the Malaysian will be taking it match by match, here in Qatar.

“Ultimately, it will be getting used to the conditions, trying to give your best and a matter of playing well on a particular day,” she said.

On her first-round opponent, Dominique, she said: “I have played her only once some years back, so I will have to work out everything together. I do not know much about her game.” The twenty-five-year-old feels that the preparatory work she undertook to tie up the lose ends of her game before the start of the British Open, should hold her good for the entire season.

“The last few months had been crucial for me in preparing for the two major tournaments- British Open and World Open. But, Qatar Classic, Hong Kong squash Open and World Team Championship are the other events which I have on my radar of success.”

David who expressed her reservation over the new 11-point system, going into the World Open said that she is getting used to the new point system.

“You have to mentally sharp, straight away in the 11-point scoring system and do not allow your concentration to flounder. If you are down, there is not much time for recovery, and by the time you try to bounce back, it is all over. But I hope to do my best and have been trying to adjust to the changes.”

But she favours the idea of the nine-point system for the juniors.

“I would love the junior players to have the 9-point system of scoring which we enjoyed as juniors. The old system gives an opportunity for the juniors to bounce back, if they are down in a game.”

David, who has won the World Open on four occasions and has an amazing 31 WISPA Tour titles against her name. Recently she became the youngest Malaysian to be conferred with Datukship in her home state of Penang. Datuk, is the Malaysian senior order of chivalry title an equivalent of a British knighthood.

“I’m happy that the Penang State appreciates my achievements and supports me in my squash career. The honour conferred on me is a motivation for young junior players from Malaysia and will also motivate me for more success. I am delighted that my success has been noticed by the state and the honour will serve as an added incentive to achieve greater success.”

And she sees many junior players from Malaysia dominating the game in the coming years.

Doha resident Weir aims big

South Africa’s Adel Weir the only WISPA player to make Middle East her base camp — aims to break into the world top-10 in the next two or three years.

Weir, who celebrates her 25th birthday on October 30, lives and trains in Doha where she will play the qualifying matches to sneak into the main draw of the 2008 Qatar Classic squash tournament beginning next Monday.

Currently ranked number 73 in the world, Adel yesterday said her main ambition as a professional player is to be one of the best on the women’s tour.

“My immediate goal is to break into the top-50. I know I have the game to do it and I will. However, I strongly feel that I need to improve the mental side of my game. I have to have faith in my ability,” the South African blonde added.

“Once I do that, my next target would be the top-30 and then the top-10. I will try to get into the main draw of the Qatar Classic next week. In December, I have plans to play three events. Right now, my chief concern is to have as many matches as possible.

“The more matches you play, the more confident you become. I am very pleased that I will be able to do that since I have Ramada Plaza Doha, which will sponsor my flights to anywhere in the world. I will travel to Holland, Wales and Monte Carlo in December. With Ramada Plaza’s valuable help, I can now focus on my game and not worry about travel issues,” the South African said.

The right-handed South African said she admires world number one Nicol David of Malaysia for humility off the court and her brilliance with a racket on it.

“I think she is an amazing player. She is the fittest and fastest player around. She is such a humble human being. Ramy Ashour (of Egypt) is another player I admire a lot. He too is a very simple guy but has great talent,” Adel said.

Adel said she favours the new scoring system introduced on the women’s tour recently.

“I think with the new system, (as a player) you are always in the game. You always think you can fight back if you are behind your rival. I am comfortable with the new scoring system (in which the points can be won on rival’s serve as well),” Adel said.

Adel will be playing her first match on Saturday when the qualifying stages of the 2008 Qatar Classic commence at the Khalifa Squash Complex.

“I have been training hard so let’s see what happens,” she said.

Liz Irving on PAR 11 Squash Scoring

Liz Irving - Coach to Nicol David, gives her opinions on the results of the decision to introduce PAR 11 scoring at WISPA events, comments on Nicol David.

Visit: Squash360

Qatar Classic 2008: Women's & Men's Draw

Main Draw Women
US$ 74,000
Round 1

[1]Nicol David(MAS) vs Dominique Lloyd-Walter(ENG)
[15]Engy Kheirallah(EGY) vs Sharon Wee(MAS)
[7]Alison Walters(ENG) vs Raneem El Weleily(EGY)
[10]Kasey Brown(AUS) vs Qualifier
[4]Natalie Grainger(USA) vs Sarah Kippax(ENG)
[16]Annelize Naude(NED) vs Qualifier
[5]Jenny Duncalf(ENG) vs Louise Crome(NZL)
[9]Omneya Abdel Kawy(EGY) vs Donna Urquhart(AUS)
[14]Jaclyn Hawkes(NZL) vs Qualifier
[8]Laura Lenghtorn-Massaro(ENG) vs Suzie Pierrepoint(ENG)
[13]Isabelle Stoehr(FRA) vs Qualifier
[3]Natalie Grinham(NED) vs Manuela Manetta(ITA)
[12]Madeline Perry(IRL) vs Lauren Briggs(ENG)
[6]Shelley Kitchen(NZL) vs Line Hansen(DEN)
[11]Rebecca Chiu(HKG) vs Qualifier
[2]Rachael Grinham(AUS) vs Qualifier

Qualifiers
1. Aisling Blake (IRL)
2. Orla Noom (NED)
3. Lauren Siddall (ENG)
4. Alana Miller (CAN)
5. Emma Beddoes (ENG)
6. Laura Mylotte (IRL)
7. Joey Chan (HKG)
8. Heba El Torky (EGY)
9. Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
10. Eman El Amir (EGY)
11. Adel Weir (RSA)
12. Jenna Gates (ENG)
13. Nouran El Torky (EGY)
14. Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (EGY)
15. Irina Assal (RUS)
16. Sara El Noamany (EGY)
17. Eliza Kargioti (GRE)


Main Draw Men
US$ 145,000
Round 1

[1]Amr Shabana(EGY) vs Qualifier
[13]Lee Beachill(ENG) vs Borja Golan(ESP)
[5]David Palmer(AUS) vs Qualifier
[12]Peter Barker(ENG) vs Qualifier
[4]Ramy Ashour(EGY) vs Omar Mosaad(EGY)
[9]Wael El Hindi(EGY) vs Qualifier
[6]Thierry Lincou(FRA) vs Cameron Pilley(AUS)
[14]Adrian Grant(ENG) vs Miguel Angel Rodriguez(COL)
[10]Ong Beng Hee(MAS) vs Qualifier
[11]Mohd Azlan Iskandar(MAS) vs Qualifier
[3]James Willstrop(ENG) vs Hisham Mohd Ashour(EGY)
[16]Olli Tuominen(FIN) vs Mohammed Abbas(EGY)
[7]Karim Darwish(EGY) vs Qualifier
[15]Laurens Jan Anjema(NED) vs Qualifier
[2]Gregory Gaultier(FRA) vs Renan Lavigne(FRA)
Stewart Boswell(AUS) vs Nick Matthew(ENG)

Shabana, David Doha Bound

Amr Shabana of Egypt and Nicol David of Malaysia, the world number one on the men’s and women’s tours respectively, will defend their titles at this month’s Qatar Classic squash tournament.

According to Gamal Rasmi, technical secretary with Qatar Squash Federation (QSF), the two players will lead the fields in the seven-day event to be held from October 25 to 31.

“The world’s top 16 players are confirmed entries for this year’s Qatar Classic and this list obviously includes Shabana, David Palmer and Gregory Gaultier,” Rasmi told The Peninsula yesterday.

Rasmi informed that said former World Open champion Thierry Lincou of France has also confirmed his participation at the Doha event.

The men’s event will have an overall prize money of $145,000 whereas the women’s tournament will have $82,000 up for grabs. No Qatari will be part of the 32-player field in the men’s event in which eight spots are reserved for the ones coming in through the qualifying stages.

“Similarly, we will have the top players for the women’s event as well. Nicol will defend her title she won her last year,” Rasmi added. “Grinham sisters, Rachel and Nathalie will also be playing in Doha.”

Last year, Shabana and David confirmed their status as the world’s number one players by winning the Qatar Classic titles in style.

Shabana, the current world number one, claimed the men’s crown for the first time in Doha after beating fourth seed Gaultier in the final of the $120,000 Super Series Platinum event while David retained the $77,000 women’s WISPA Gold event trophy by defeating fifth seed Natalie Grainger in straight games.

Twenty eight-year-old Shabana, the top seed from Egypt, battled for 52 minutes to topple is French rival 11-4, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5.

David, the 24-year-old from Penang, was in sparkling form as she dispatched Grainger, the Pan American Games gold medallist from the US, 9-6, 9-4, 10-9 in 43 minutes.

Shabana, who has a huge fan following in Doha, has stretched his reign as the world number one for 31 months.

The Egyptian, winner of three World Open titles, has won a remarkable 20 trophies from 27 PSA finals.

David is now a three-time World Open and British Open champion (2005, 2006 and 2008).

The forthcoming event is to be held on squash courts inside the Khalifa Tennis Complex premises.

Men & Women's Draw to follow..

Video Interviews with James & Sarah from Media Day

Hi-Tec World Squash Championships

Media Day
Manchester, England
** Video Interviews **

Squash360 correspondent James Poole attended the Hi-Tec World Squash Championship’s Media Day at the National Squash Centre in Manchester on Thursday.

Be sure and check out James' videos with:
James Willstrop - World #3
Nick Rider - CEO of England Squash
Sarah Kippax - World #31, Tournament Ambassador

Dutch Open Squash 2008 Finals

Forexx Dutch Open Day 2 - John White and Nicol David

Nicol's Forexx Dutch Open Day 1 Highlights

Interesting action at 2:10minutes

Flashback- Forexx Dutch Open 2007

Nicol defeated by Udai in the Battle of the Sexes, but only just.

Women's World No1 Nicol David suffered her first defeat in nearly a year at the Kallang squash centre- and it took a man to do it.

David entertained over 600 fans as she pushed the Republic's top male player Udai Singh to the rubber before losing 9/11, 11/8, 11/9, 8/11, 5/11 in the 7-Eleven Battle of the Sexes event.

"It's harder to get the ball past men. They have more speed and strength. You have to be very tight with your shot," said the 1.62m-tall, 55kg Malaysian , who won the CIMB Singapore Masters on Saturday.

"Still, I enjoyed the match. Playing with men raises my game to another level."

The vocal crowd were hoping for an upset- and David, 24, nearly pulled it off, as she sent her fast-tiring opponent scampering with stunning strokes and tactics.

But Udai, at 1.78m tall and 71kg, had his physical advantage to thank for the $1,500 winner's cheque.

The 36 year-old sales director, looking chuffed at the end of the hour-long match, said:"I was fully stretched by Nicol. She makes no mistakes. She takes the ball very early and is very consistent."

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!