David wins squash gold

As expected, World no 1 Nicol Ann David exorcised her demons of the last Asian Games, by winning gold in the women's squash singles at the Khalifa International Complex on Thursday, 14 December.

Four years ago she suffered a devastating loss to Chiu Wing Yin at the final in Busan, Korea which caused her to take a four month break from the game to reassess her career in the sport. But this time round it was a whole different story as she brushed aside her rival from Hong Kong, China 9-0, 9-3, 9-3 in just 30 minutes.

Clad in a striking red and black outfit, the Malaysian player was a picture of concentration and determination as she took to the court. She stamped her authority on the game early on and raced into a 3-0 lead. She made good use of the court to stretch that advantage to 5-0. Try as she might, Chiu had no answer to Davis's incessant pressure and the opening game ended with a 9-0 whitewash in just six minutes.

David began the second game in similar fashion, winning the first point by varying her pace. Chiu finally broke the ice with a powerful shot to the right-hand corner of the court. But David was soon on top again and, after a series of long rallies, she stretched her lead to 4-1, before wrapping up the second game, 9-3.

In the third, the world No 1raced into a 3-0 lead. Chiu managed to win a few points after an impressive array of shots and evened the score at 3-3. But David returned with a series of clinical executions to confirm her status as the Asian Games' top player and seal the match with a 9-3 score in the final game. Her gold was the 200th for Malaysia in Asian Games history.

After the game, David was keen to play down any talk of revenge, she said, "There is no thought of revenge. It is more about wanting to win that medal. She is a hard player to play and I had to keep her out of her comfort zone.

"It was a good match and I feel really ecstatic. It was the last day of the last tournament of the year and there was so much pressure on both girls leading into the game. It has been a great year and a great way to finish off by winning here."

Chiu said, "I played just normally. David overpowered me and put me under great pressure. I think I should have been more patient. I need to work hard to win against her. I knew it before I started the match. She is so much better than me. Her speed and strength were superior, so I couldn't perform to my full potential. It was easier for her to get a point and very hard for me to respond."

15th Asian Games, Doha 2006