DAY 4 – AFTERNOON SESSION – INTERVIEW WITH NICOL DAVID

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TRAINING SESSION ON QUARTER FINAL DAY

 

Well, Nicol, you ‘re going to be playing a really important match here today in the quarter-finals versus Hong Kong. How do  you feel about that ?

All the matches from now on are going to be important anyway. Our team  did well in the pool rounds to come through. I think we are just going to do our best and hope that we will come out on top.

You’re seeded 3 in the competition with Egypt and England in front. What is your objective ? Obviously you are hoping to go further than that.

I think we’re just focusing on our match today and we really want to put in on a good show and if all goes well, we’ll focus on the next day.

What’s your record with Hong Kong ?

Mostly we’ve had a better end in the past but we still just have to bring in a good game and  take control straight away from the first match. We’re really excited about playing on the glass court today. We’re hoping for a good crowd to cheer us on.

How different is the World teams event from the other competitions you go to ?

It’s great to represent your country and be part of a team, all of us being together and working towards something, fixing a goal. We’re a close group and we get on well together. We just want to encourage each other to put on our best game  and feel that whatever happens we just gave it our best. Coming to France, we have had some great World Team Championships  here in Nîmes and we have good memories of that event. Being in Paris is very special, going past the Eiffel Tower – it’s very special being here. There are some great results coming from France and hopefully there will be more events here.

Peter Genever, your national coach, has been with Malaysia for a number of years now. How important is that ?

Very. I’ve worked with him for National Team training sessions. He knows the game really well. He knows what it’s all about when you’re competing so it’s good to have him by our side and working with all the players.

Now that you’re no longer World N°1 has that taken a lot of pressure off you or has nothing changed?

Well, it gives you a real boost to get going and training. You have something to aspire to and the goal is to better yourself all the time  and  keep improving and when that happens the results will come through, no matter what you’re at, just keep improving.

So you aren’t thinking of retiring then…

Oh, no, not any time soon

That’s good news for us then