HIDDEN POWER

World squash icon and founder of Nicol David Organisation Datuk Nicol David is setting up future champions for success by uplifting the most important women in their lives

- Tania Jayatilaka

The World Economic Forum estimates that addressing the gaps in women’s health can potentially boost the global economy by at least US$ 1 trillion by 2040. The message is clear: give a woman access to well-rounded healthcare that takes her and her family’s needs into consideration, and her participation in the economy adds growth and prosperity to the entire world. Helping just one woman creates a ripple effect that includes a better life for her parents, her children, her community and ultimately, all of society.

This is a need that former squash World No 1 champion Datuk Nicol Ann David quickly recognised while working on training future squash athletes through the Little Legends programme in her non-profit organisation, the Nicol David Organisation (NDO). Founded together with Columbian squash champ Mariana de Reyes, NDO empowers girls and boys from underprivileged communities in Malaysia to realise their full potential through this unique, subsidised afterschool programme that combines squash training and English tuition.

Determined to uplift the next generation of squash talents in Malaysia, David has devoted her time and energy to giving these future dynamos a leg-up in the world of sports.

But an athlete’s journey is never limited to him or her alone, as David understands. Behind the rigorous training, discipline, and monetary cost of becoming a champion, there are parents who make countless sacrifices to ensure their child has every opportunity to succeed.

“My mum was a full-time teacher while raising myself and my two sisters. She somehow still found the time to take us to school every morning, go to the market for groceries, and get our lunches and dinners ready before working all day at school,” David says fondly, gratefully recalling how her father would drop her and her sisters off at squash trainings and pick them up after. “When I spoke to my mum about it recently, she even said ‘I also don’t know how I did it’.