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Nicol Ann David Malaysian Squash Champion

"A larger version of a Nicol David picture."

Egypt’s Amr Shabana and Malaysia’s Nicol David have been crowned world squash champions after upsetting player's with higher seeds in today’s finals of the Cathay Pacific Credit Suisse Privilege World Squash Open in Hong Kong. Shabana, the fifth seed, regained the squash title he first won two years ago in Pakistan when he beat third seed David Palmer, the 2002 squash champion from Australia, 11-6 11-7 11-8. Within 24 hours of winning the semi-final match which guaranteed her status as the next women’s world number one squash player, third seed Nicol David added ‘world champion’ of squash to her credits when she beat Australian squash playing favourite Rachael Grinham 8-10 9-2 9-6 9-7. After dropping his only squash game of the tournament in his first round squash match against English qualifier Simon Parke, Amr Shabana reached the final following a straight games dismissal of England’s 1999 world squash champion Peter Nicol, who in the previous round had dethroned title-holder Thierry Lincou in four games. Palmer also defeated a high-flying Englishman in the semis, avenging his defeat in the Qatar Classic final six days earlier by beating the new world number two James Willstrop in three close squash games. But the 26-year-old left-hander from Cairo was in devastating form against the Australian, winning 11-6 11-7 11-8 in 40 minutes to become the first squash player to win the World Open squash title more than once since the great squash player Jansher Khan a decade ago. “It’s such a dream to win this squash title for a second time, it’s like entering history as nobody has done it since the great Jahangir and Jansher,” said Shabana to www.squashsite.co.uk The Hong Kong squash success marks the ninth PSA title of Shabana’s career, four of which he has secured since September. After leading Egypt in the Men’s Squash World Team Championships in Pakistan, starting on Thursday, Shabana will rejoin the PSA Tour on 16 December at the $127,500 Saudi International in Al-Khobar, where he is the fourth seed. The rapid rise of squash player Nicol Ann David over the past few months has made the 22-year-old from Penang one of Malaysia’s most celebrated sports stars. Nicol David twice led in the first squash game of the final and saved a game ball at 7-8 before Grinham, the world No1 squash player for 16 months until this week, took the opener. But the pint-sized Malaysian squash player fought back to even the match after only losing two further points, then outlasted her experienced opponent to clinch a sensational victory – and the sport’s most prized title - 8-10 9-2 9-6 9-7 after 53 minutes. “This has come maybe sooner than expected. I simply cannot believe it,” said an emotional Nicol Ann David after becoming the first Asian women’s world champion. “This is only the beginning, I’m looking forward to the future. I’ve got so much more to learn, so much more to work on.” The Hong Kong triumph rounds off a magnificent year for Nicol David, who won the Kuala Lumpur Squash Open in February and went on to remain undefeated in six further WISPA Tour finals – in addition to the World Games final in July – to bring her Tour title haul to ten. It was in February 2000 that Nicol Ann David won her maiden professional trophy in the Finnish Open – becoming, at 16, the youngest squash player ever winner of a WISPA title.