LEE CHONG WEI

Datuk Lee Chong Wei is the most famous badminton player in Malaysia and also in other foreign country. He is the first place badminton player in the world. He was born in George Town, Penang on the 21st of October 1982. He is 29 years old this year. In his early years, he liked to play basketball. However his mother soon banned him from that activity due to the searing heat of the outdoor basketball court. He began to learn badminton at the age of 11, when his father, who liked to play the game, brought him to the badminton hall. Attracting the attention of a local coach, the couch asked his father if he could take him as his student. After receiving the nod from his father, the coach began to train Lee Chong Wei after school. Discovered by Misbun Sidek, he was drafted into the national squad when he was seventeen years old. On November 3, 2006, he was involved in a car accident. On his way to Bukit Jalil after dinner, he was knocked from behind by a vehicle which had lost control after a tire burst. He was then sent to the Sunway Medical Centre and treated with six stitches for his head injury. He received RM300000 on 21st of August 2008, as a reward for his silver medal effort in the 2008 Olympic Games. Also, he received RM3,000 a month as a lifetime pension beginning in August 2008. For the same achievement, he was conferred with a Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN), which carries title Datuk by Governor of Penang, Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas on 30th of August 2008. On June 6, 2009, he received the Darjah Bakti (DB) award, from Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin in conjunction with the Birthday of Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong, for his achievements in the 2008 Olympics. He was in a relationship with Wong Mew Choo, his teammate. He and Wong Mew Choo announced they are no longer together during the 2009 World Championships in Hyderabad, India. On 16th of March 2011, he received Permodalan Nasional Berhad shares worth MYR100,000 from Najib Tun Razak soon after his triumph in All

England Open. He appointed as KDU University College ambassador on 31st of July 2011. He has hinted he could retire following the 2012 Olympics.

NICOL ANN DAVID

Datuk Nicol Ann David is the female professional squash player in Malaysia and also in other foreign country. She is currently ranked number one in women squash, and is the first Asian woman to achieve this. She won the
British Open title in 2005, 2006 and 2008, as well as the World Open title in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Nicol is the daughter of Ann Marie David, a retired Malaysian Chinese school teacher, and Desmond David, a Malaysian Indian engineer, who is also a former state athlete and footballer. She has two sisters, Lianne and Cheryl, both of whom are accomplished squash players at the national level. As the youngster, Mathematics was Nicol's best subject at school. She dreamed of one day becoming an engineer. Her primary education was at Sekolah Kebangsaan Convent Green Lane(Convent Green Lane Primary School). Nicol scored seven A's for her Penilaian Menengah Rendah and obtained seven A's in her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (the equivalent to GCSE), which she studied at Convent Green Lane Secondary School in Green Lane, Penang. She was raised a Roman Catholic. Nicol is the first squash player to have won the World Junior title twice; in 1999 and 2001 under the tutelage of Richard Glanfield. She remained the only female squash player to have achieved this, until Raneem El Weleiny emulated Nicol's feat by winning her second World Junior Championship in 2007. Nicol joined WISPA and turned professional in 2000 when she won her first WISPA title, after only a month in the tour. The victory came in February, when she defeated Slama Sabana in the final of the Savcor Finnish Open. On7th of June 2008, Nicol David was honoured with the Order of Merit (Darjah Bakti) or D.B. in conjunction with the birthday of the His Majesty Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin. She was the first recipient of the award which was established on 26th of June 1975. Nicol was also invited to carry the Olympic torch for Malaysia during the build up to the Athens Olympics in

2004 and being appointed as UNDP National Goodwill Ambassador for Malaysia. Nicol David's other notable achievements include the Asian Squash Championship, which she won with a record of eight times (in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011). She also held a 13-month, 51match winning streak, from March 2006 until April 2007, when she finally lost to Natalie Grinham in the final of the 2007 Seoul Open. Nicol has also obtained the WISPA Player of the Year on six consecutive occasions, from 2005 until 2010.