Malaysian Squash Star Nicol Ann David Leads ‘Greatest Athlete of All Time’ Poll

Beloved Malaysian squash star Nicol Ann David is leading the online poll for World Games’ “Greatest Athlete of All Time.”

Squash legend: Many believe David deserves a spot among the greats after breaking international records and winning titles during her career spanning over two decades.

The 37-year-old athlete, who retired in 2019, is considered the most successful Malaysian sports figure in history, according to Says.
David’s only disappointment was never having the chance to represent Malaysia as an Olympian, as squash was never included as an Olympic sport.
David is the only athlete representing an Asian country in the online poll that shortlisted 23 other candidates.
As of this writing, David has so far accumulated 175,005 votes from fans, which is nearly 100,000 more than the current second place, Russian sumo wrestler Batyr Altyev (78,414 votes).
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Get to know David: The heavily lauded athlete was born in Penang, Malaysia, with an interest in the sport at the age of 5, according to Britannica.

When David was 15, she became the youngest woman to win a World Junior Championship and defended her crown again in 2001. In between those competitions, she also became the youngest woman to win the 2000 Savcor Finnish Open.
She became the first Asian female to be officially ranked as the number one female player in the world in January 2006.
Overall, David has won eight World Open crowns.
Now into retirement, David plans to create her own foundation, giving talks and more, with the goal of empowering young girls to take up sports, according to The Malaysian Reserve.
“Retirement has been great. I am absolutely loving it…Waking up in the morning not having to train for competitions or having to make sure I am mentally sound and ready for a season,” she told the publication.

GOAT of World Games: The “World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time” poll includes a variety of sports from all editions of The World Games’ history from 1981 to 2017, including archery, bowling, canoe and lacrosse.

Anyone can vote for their favorite athlete on the website via this link.
Voters are required to vote for two candidates: two votes to your first-choice candidate and one vote to your second-choice candidate. Single-candidate votes will not be counted.
Only 10 highest ranked candidates will advance to the next level which starts on Jan. 20.
The winner will be crowned after voting ends on Feb. 1.

Feature Image via Getty (left), @NicolDavid (right)

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