Squash freak Nicol David snared her 62nd career title on Sunday and then claimed she’d trade every single one for an Olympic gold medal.
The Malaysian superstar outclassed England’s Laura Massaro 17-15 11-2 11-6 to successfully defend her Australian Open crown before an enthralled gallery at Canberra’s Royal Theatre.
After saving six game balls to snatch the opening set, David imposed her mental will over Massaro to run away with the final in 44 minutes.
“The Australian Open is like a grand slam for us squash players and I’m just so glad to win it for a second time,” David said.
The 28-year-old’s victory comes on top of six World Open and four British Open triumphs, but the public face of squash’s 2020 Back The Bid campaign maintained she’d swap the lot for a shot at Olympic glory.
“I was in London for the Olympics and it was just heartbreaking to watch all the other sports knowing squash isn’t part of it,” David told AAP.
“Squash players are some of the best athletes in the world. It’s a sport truly for all-rounders, you need every skill and we really belong in the Olympics.
“We just deserve to be there and I’ll be doing everything I can to help get it in and also do everything I can to make sure I am still around when it is.”
Egyptian maestro Ramy Ashour also made an impassioned plea for Olympics inclusion after retaining the men’s Australian Open title with an 11-9 11-9 11-6 success over countryman Omar Mosaad.
Squash – voted by Forbes magazine in 2010 as the healthiest sport of all – is the only mainstream racquet sport not in the Games and Ashour said he’s never understood why.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong about the game,” said the world No.4.
“It’s very healthy, you burn a lot of calories. This game can be very, very good for human beings in general – not just as a sport.
“We have a portable court that can be put anywhere in the world. It’s very fast, very interesting, very exciting and everyone whoever watches squash always comes back.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I’ve seen a lot of other sports that don’t belong in the Olympics when squash isn’t in there.”
This year’s Australian Open featured eight of the world’s top 10 women’s players, making it the strongest field in history, while adding lustre to the lung-busting 53-minute men’s final was the fact that it featured two Egyptians on the final day of Ramadan.
The legendary Heather McKay, a 16-times British Open champion, and fellow former world champions Michelle Martin, Sarah Fitzgerald and Vicki Cardwell were among the big crowd on hand for the two championship deciders.
clipper
Guest
When the IOC have their meeting next year, they will decide on a sport (and the host city) for the 2020 games. Squash is up against softball, karate, washu, beach soccer and a couple of others, so might have a chance. Missed out on 2016 to golf, which seems a strange decision. The number of squash courts in Sydney has diminished due to housing pressures, especially closer to the city where real estate prices are high.
langou
Roar Guru
They certainly deserve a spot, however the problem they have is that we have currently reached the maximum amount of sports allowed and something would have to go to make room for squash
Rugby Fan
Roar Guru
Squash missed out in the past because the sport didn't put together very effective bids for inclusion. The World Squash Federation tended to act as if their claims were self-evident, and it was just an unfortunate bureaucratic oversight that they weren't already in the Olympics. They weren't being arrogant, they just didn't appreciate how hard other sports would be campaigning, and found themselves badly outgunned. In particular, the biggest hurdle at the IOC is whether squash can be effectively televised. Certainly, there are other sports already in the schedule which don't make for great screen spectacles, but any new entrant has to address the issue head-on. For their third try, squash appears to have realized this. They have simplified scoring, designated glass-walled courts and worked on how best to showcase matches. It'll be a better bid but it's getting harder to slip a new sport into the Olympic schedule. Mind you, the other candidates appear to be baseball, softball, karate, rock climbing, rollersports and wushu. If so, there probably won't be a better opportunity to make their case.
Rough Conduct
Guest
Yes! Agree, of course squash should be in the Olympics - and tennis should not. The sport is extremely popular, many small country towns in Australia have squash courts - it is extremely accessible to all. The sport takes up minimal time and space with limited equipment required, it is not weather dependant and is great for releasing frustration - it is perfect for the time-poor, health-concious modern society.
GrecoRoman
Roar Guru
I think squash would be a great inclusion. The problem is - $$$$$. Getting included in the games is more about what the sport can generate in terms of potential sponsorship money for the IOC than the actual benefits of including the sport from a purely sporting point of view. This is going to be the biggest hurdle for inclusion that squash will have to overcome.