Malaysian great Nicol David flew the flag for squash as she attended the 25th anniversary of the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid earlier this week.
Laureus is a global organisation that celebrates the greatest and most inspirational sporting triumphs and uses the power of sport to transform the lives of children and young people around the world.
David, 40, first became a Laureus Ambassador in 2014 before being officially announced as a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy – a recognised group of 69 sporting legends – in 2021. As an Academy Member, David is part of the ultimate sports jury, voting each year to decide on the winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards. Among this year’s winners were 24-time Grand Slam tennis champion Novak Djokovic, four-time Olympic Gold medal gymnast Simone Biles, and football stars Aitana Bonmati and Jude Bellingham.
Other Academy Members alongside David in attendance on Monday (22 April) included the likes of Olympic champions Boris Becker, Michael Johnson, Jessica Ennis-Hill, rugby player Bryan Habana, and football icons Roberto Carlos and Alessandra Del Piero.
David is widely regarded as the greatest women’s player in the history of squash. She held the World No.1 ranking position for a record-breaking 108 months until September 2015 as well as winning an unprecedented eight World Championship titles between 2005 and 2015. She also took home five British Open titles and won two Commonwealth Games gold medals during her illustrious career.
David also founded the Nicol David Organisation, one of the Squash for Development programmes that the PSA Foundation supports.
“It’s an honour for me to represent Squash at the World Sports Awards,” David said. “I’m so proud to witness and vote for the winners as well as continue to leave a legacy for my sport and my country.
“I’m a Laureus Academy Member and I’m part of the Executive Board that oversees the academy. Being an Academy member is only for a selected number of former athletes and we oversee the strategy as well as vote for the winners of the prizes.
“My favourite moment was meeting Rafa Nadal, as he embodies true grit and determination. I also visited his foundation earlier, and I’m so proud to see how my foundation and his are very aligned. I’m hoping to learn more and work together with the Laureus Foundation to continue to grow our sports for development programmes.
“The event was just full of stars! I can’t believe I got to see all my hero’s and I feel very proud of what I accomplished in my professional career.”
You can find out more about the Laureus World Sports Awards here.