This vividly summarizes all her hardwork and determination compiled in one picture. I looked up for some of her achievements on Google, saved it up and edited it on Adobe Photoshop CS3. Neat work, eh?
Anyway back to the whole point, Datuk Nicol Ann David's achievements are too many to be listed down! It'll take awhile and hope it wouldn't bore you while you read. :)
- Her first global win tournament was held at Hong Kong categorised under 13.
- Datuk Nicol Ann David was in her teenage years when she was in the process of becoming the junior champion. This 15 year old girl beat 3 players who were ranked in the world's top 20 to get herself up as a junior champion. How AWESOME is that?!
- She made full use of her opportunity and owned the junior championship twice. She was one of the two players to have achieved this... She topped the history of squash!
- Datuk Nicol Ann David made it to the top 10 world list as soon as she reached 16. She was progressing better and better.
- She owns an invincible track record in Asia after victoriously winning the Asian Championship 5 times in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. She was unstoppable!
- In December 2005, she became the youngest, I repeat, YOUNGEST, world champion after owning a match between Rachael Grinham (click on the link to know more about her) and Datuk Nicol Ann David herself, in the finals of Hong Kong Open tournament.
- A year after that in January, she reached a whole new level of success when she conquered as the world's number one female squash player.
- Datuk Nicol Ann David wasn't only the first Malaysian to take over the throne of squash world but she was also the first Asian woman to be ranked as number one. It was a great achievement to her, her parents and Malaysia must have been so proud of how high she climbed to the peak of her career.
- Despite being a number one in every tournament and matches, unfortunately it lasted for only 3 months because of her defeat at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. She won in second place :(
- Malaysians were in despair and felt upset with her loss in that match. They even predicted the failure and evoked the wrath of the Sports Ministry.
- Good news: that wasn't the last of her! Datuk Nicol Ann David bounced her way back with a hard bang by winning a record in 51 consecutive matches and was invincible or proceeded with her 'immortality' for 13 months before she eventually lost to Natalie Grinham in the Seoul Open final game. At least she made a great progress though! She proved that she could positively climb back on her two feet instead of crawling.
- She rested back the position of world number one status and is still possessing it for more than a year! She drifted her way back up in her own single-minded determination and sheer effort! Now that deserves respect.
- Even better, her success in squash did not affect her academically, she flaunt impressively and outstandingly which makes Malaysians see her as a remarkable idol. She would be preparing for her exams AND practicing at the same time to sharpen her skills in court.
- On December 2007, she was announced as the winner of the inaugural Asian Sportswoman of the Year winner, beating other competitors who are among 100 athletes and sports persons who were nominated that day.
- And on this present day, she is now a professional squash player, well-known globally and highly respected for her achievements. Datuk Nicol Ann David is definitely a superb role model for Malaysians - and not to mention for other youths around the world.
Another piece of information:
- Her other notable achievements include winning the Asian Squash Championship eight times, a hard-to-beat record. That's outrageous!
- She was also named the WISPA Player of the Year for 6 consecutive times from 2005 - 2010! She was honored with the Order of Merit (Darjah Bakti) by His Majesty Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin in 2008 and was the first recipient of the award that was established in 1975. This award is limited to only 10 recipients who have made significant contributions in the arts, sciences and the humanities.
- In the same year, she received the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri award as well, which explains why she is carrying the title 'Datuk' before her name. This makes her the youngest person ever to be conferred Datukship in Penang.
Sources/References: http://july927.blogspot.com/2011/03/biodata-of-idol_30.html, http://esthervillejoanne.blogspot.com/2010/01/datuk-nicol-ann-daviddspn.html, http://ukahsinti.blogspot.com/2012/03/biography-dato-nicol-ann-david.html, http://top10malaysia.com/home/index.php/news-and-events/top-10-s-list-of-the-most-inspiring-women-in-malaysia
