It's been a fruitful year for women's world number one squash player Datuk Nicol Ann David, and the time has come for her to celebrate her success.
"I couldn't ask for more and I am pleased ... with all the work hard, everything has paid off," said Nicol when met after the National Sports Council's Sports Excellence Reward Scheme (Shakam) award for the Guangzhou Asian Games held at Dewan Komanwel in Bukit Jalil here today.
Nicol said 2010 had been a fruitful year compared to 2009 and she wanted to keep up the momentum for next year.
The 27-year-old squash player received the second-highest amount of the incentive totalling RM100,000, while senior bowler Alex Liew received the highest amount of RM128,000 for his Asian Games achievement.
Said Nicol: "I think this is the highest incentive I've received. For the Games, this is definitely the highest amount. This incentive is always an added bonus for me.
"I would dedicate it to my family, my parents especially. They have been there throughout with me ... through the ups and downs in my squash. They are always there."
In 2005, Nicol received a handsome RM200,000 incentive from the government in recognition of her series of wins and for emerging as the world number one in the sport.
This year, Nicol remains unbeaten and has won all her Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA) tour competitions, the world title, and the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games gold medals.
Her record-equalling fifth World Open title in Cairo, Egypt, has enabled Nicol to stay at the top for 53 consecutive months (since August 2006) in the WISPA rankings.
Nicol will embark on a three-week training stint with her mentor Sarah Fitz -Gerald and Vicki Cardwell (both former world champions) in Melbourne, Australia, to prepare for the new season next year.
"It is nice to be back in Melbourne. In Amsterdam, it is really cold right now. It is also good to be on court with Sarah again," she said.
Nicol would leave for Melbourne on Jan 2 before taking part in her first event of the 2011 season at the Cleveland Racquet Classic championship in Cleveland, Ohio, from Jan 30 to Feb 2.
"Right after that, I will go back to Amsterdam and start training and build up for the KL Open and the rest of the year. I will be participating in about nine to 11 tournaments or more next year," she said.
Nicol left for her hometown in Penang today to spend her Christmas holiday with her family.
