Squash: David plans to emulate veteran McKay

David’s win revealed how she is evolving as a player with extremely long term ambitions.

GRAND CAYMAN: Nicol David, the most successful squash player of the professional era, plans to continue competing till the end of the decade irrespective of whether squash is accepted into the Olympics.

David’s win over England’s Laura Massaro, which extended her record of World Open titles to seven, revealed how she is evolving as a player with extremely long term ambitions. Afterwards, David was clear in her mind about the direction in which she was going.

“I have to keep my body in shape,” said David. “I might go on another seven years anyway but the Olympics would add meaning to it. I am working to keep going another five to seven years anyway, but the Olympics would be great.”

If she succeeds, David would be almost 37 — close to the age at which Heather McKay, the legendary Australian, retired after winning the first two of the World Open championships in 1979.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2012.