Malaysian national coach Peter Genever believes she will bounce back stronger
By Squash Mad Reporter
Nicol David is going through the worst run in her professional squash career, but there’s nothing to worry about.
National head coach Peter Genever believes that world champion Nicol will bounce back and regain the formidable form that kept her on top of the women’s world rankings for more than eight years.
The 32-year-old Nicol has only won one title this year – the Cleveland Classic in February. She was also disposed as the world No.1 by Raneem El Welily of Egypt in September.
Last week the Penangite suffered her second successive quarter-final exit after losing to eventual champion Laura Massaro of England at the US Open in Philadelphia. She also lost in the last eight at the China Open, losing to teenager Nouran Gohar of Egypt for the first time last month.
“I train with Nicol whenever she is in Kuala Lumpur and she is still training very well. She can definitely benefit from an extended training period, having just recovered from a calf injury which forced her to pull out of last month’s Macau Open,” said Genever.
“I believe Nicol can still win in her upcoming events at the Qatar Classic (Oct 29-Nov 6), Hong Kong Open (Nov 29-Dec 6) and World Championships in KL (Dec 11-18). It’s tough but she will compete hard in all three events.
“At the US Open, there were several upsets and surprises. It shows that the women’s game is improving. The lower 17-inch tin is also another factor,” said Genever.
In another development, Genever wants youngsters like Teh Min Jie, Rachel Arnold and Vanessa Raj to stand up and be counted for in international tournaments.
“Rachel, Min Jie and Vanessa have done well so far, but they should have at least won one of the titles on the Malaysian Tour Squash Circuit (SSJM) by now.
“There are four SSJM meets this year and I expect some home winners especially in the women’s event,” said Genever.
The next SSJM meet, the eighth leg of the 12-leg Tour, will be in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 10-14.
Source: The Star