Foul!

As published in Malay Mail today.  GOING NUTS By Graig Nunis ON April 8, news broke that Malaysia would host the next three World Championships for women’s squash starting from December. It was a big deal with local newspapers highlighting the fact eight-time world champion Datuk Nicol David would have three opportunities to finally win a world title on home ground after failing to do so in March 2014 (this was for the 2013 World Championship which was postponed after prospective hosts Hong Kong and Egypt had their bids rejected). The 2014 event was in Cairo, Egypt in December where David won her record-extending eighth world crown. However, in August of that year, Hallmark Events Group was awarded the rights to three consecutive world title events with a guaranteed prize-fund in excess of US$500,000 (RM2.1 million). Between August and April Hallmark was “negotiating” with prospective hosts before revealing Malaysia had won the right to host the World Champi...

As published in Mailsport on Dec 6 Comment by Graig Nunis gnunis@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — The old saying “it is all fun and games until someone gets hurt” holds true for the Women’s World Squash Championship. The attempt by Hallmark Events Group to “blackmail” the sports ministry into giving them RM3.5 million for “security arrangements” is a prime example of how badly we need a strong sports commissioner to uphold the Sports Development Act 1997. Hallmark cited security reasons for postponing the Dec 11-18 tournament but in an email reply to Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, they had admitted they do not have enough funding. Khairy said the organisers told him: “We can still organise this next week if you give us RM3.5 million for private security arrangements.” Khairy rightly shut them up, saying: “I don’t appreciate being blackmailed, especially after they had used security as an excuse and painted Malaysia in bad light when they admitted they had decided to pos...

Malay Mail sports editor Graig Nunis has plenty of fun 'baking' his column, as published in Mailsport today. GOING NUTS Graig Nunis CUPCAKES — almost everyone loves them. They are delicious, easy to make and even easier to find. From a single recipe, you can make a variety of flavours and if you’re adventurous enough, add some toppings to take it to a whole new level. Unlike cooking where you can throw a bunch of ingredients together and still make a tasty dish, baking is a precise science — one wrong step and a cake would more likely than not, be ruined. You also need patience — too high a heat can burn the cake, too low and it will be undercooked — although if you’re making lava cakes, the gooey centre is just what you’re looking for, so technically you are doing it just right. As such, unlike cooking, in baking everything has to be done perfectly. This is also true about sports. Everyone demands success but how many put in the effort to ensure we get there? Have they do...

As published in Malay Mail today. The back page on Sept 24, 2014 celebrating Nicol's success PETALING JAYA — Another day went by at the Asian Games in Incheon with the girls saving Malaysia the blushes. National shooter Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi celebrated her 32nd birthday yesterday by winning a silver medal in the individual 50m rifle prone after equaling her personal best of 620.6 points. She finished behind Mongolia’s Narantuya Chuluunbadrakh, who gunned down 624.1 points. She also helped Malaysia secure the team bronze medal. Nur Suryani, together with Nur Ayuni Farhana Abdul Halim and Muslifah Zulkifli, scored a total of 1,853.6 points — behind South Korea (1,855.5 points) and China (1,854.1). “I was disappointed in failing to reach the final in the 10m air event on Monday. But I put my emotions aside to concentrate on the remaining events,” the Royal Malaysian Navy officer told reporters. This is the first time a Malaysian had won a silver medal in shootin...

Part of the roof of the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil collapsed on Tuesday, adding another chapter to similar cases involving stadiums and public hospitals in recent months. The roof at the centre underwent maintenance works two years ago but the centre had yet to undergo any major refurbishment since it was opened for the Commonwealth Games in 1998. An office was destroyed while water managed to seep through certain areas of the centre. The flooding, however, did not damage the courts or the Squash Racquet Association of Malaysia's (SRAM) office. The centre comes under the purview of the Malaysia Stadium Corporation (MSC). MSC chief executive officer Ahmad Harun Helmi remained tight-lipped over the incident. "I have been instructed by Sports Ministry secretary-general Datuk Jamil Salleh not to give any statement," he said. Read more in The Malay Mail today. HD says: Thankfully no one was hurt in the incident.

As some of our top wall bashers including Nicol David, Low Wee Wern and Ong Beng Hee participate in a flash mob at The Curve at 7pm as part of the campaign to get squash into the 2020 Olympics, some of them seem to be pretty disgruntled over certain matters in the scene. There are claims that the Squash Racquet Association of Malaysia (SRAM) do not have enough funds in their coffers despite the funding from the National Sports Council (NSC) and financial giants CIMB. Thus the "national body are not able to pay coaches". But there are those who say there aren't many local coaches to begin with and former players tend to request for "big" salaries. There is also a debate over Wee Wern's recent statement in the newspapers as seen here. She was quoted saying; “The funding is quite limited at the moment and it’s tough at times to compete in more tournaments around the world. “I also want to ask for more funds for Aaron (Soyza) so he can travel with ...

But you won't see the last of Azlan Iskandar ( pic ). The squash player announced his retirement from the professional circuit - something he has been toying about for sometime due to other personal commitments. Thus it comes to no surprise he was rather "fine" when asked how he felt right after the press conference held at the National Squash Center in Bukit Jalil. He was, however, overwhelmed with the response after making the announcement. "Of course I was taken aback by the twitter response," exclaimed Azlan. "But made the decision a while back. Thank you all for the overwhelming support." Azlan will surely be part of the sport through the Azlan Iskandar Squash Academy . And he will surely steal the headlines in the near future - not through his exploits on the squash courts for sure. For his full 'retirement' statement, read here . HD says : Thank you and all the best.

Squash queen Nicol David ( pic ) made it a memorable weekend for Malaysian sports after she won the World Series Finals in London yesterday. Nicol defeated Irish lass Madeline Perry 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 in the final. Earlier, he fellow state athlete Lee Chong Wei had won the Korea Open Super Series men's singles title. This is Nicol's 57th Wispa title. With a perfect start to the year, the Penangite is expected to nail a whole lot of titles this year. Athletes like Nicol and Chong Wei do not come by every day. They are exceptional so it will be unfair to expect a similar pedigree of athletes any time soon. However, it is instrumental to narrow the gap between such athletes and their peers. We need both the quality and quantity of good athletes especially during major tournaments. Perhaps there is a need of organising more local tournaments to ensure the masses are well represented. HD says: Well done Nicol.

It was a great day for squash and badminton. World No 1 Nicol David won her sixth World Open title after beating Jenny Duncalf 11-2, 11-5, 11-0 in less than half an hour. Nicol's win was expected. Meanwhile, national junior shuttler Zulfadli Zulkifli ( pic ) inked history by bagging the World junior title after beating Denmark's Viktor Axelsen 21-18, 9-21, 21-19 in the boys singles final. Joining Zulfadli on the podium were Nelson Wei Keat-Teo Ee Yi as they won the boys doubles title after defeating top seeds Huang Po Jui and Lin Chia Yu of Taiwan 21-17, 21-17 in another final. So where do they go from here? Before we get carried away, let's ensure the juniors enjoy proper guidance en route to molding them into world champions of the future. We seem to do great at the age-group tournaments but fizzle out at the senior level.. Also, let's be mindful that other countries in the region are also catching up. Indonesia, a country which are still banking on their more seas...