GEORGE TOWN, Feb 19 — Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has described national squash queen, Datuk Nicol Ann David as an "irreplaceable star” and hopes she will continue to contribute to the development of the sport she loves.

Her exploits in the sport brought glory for Malaysia and that it would be hard to find a sportsperson of her calibre,  he told reporters after witnessing the signing of a contract for maintenance of side lanes between  the Penang City Council and Bank of China (Malaysia) Berhad here tonight.

The squash superstar has announced that she will be retiring in June.

The 35-year-old Penangite occupied the world number one ranking for nine years before being overtaken by Egyptian ace Raneem El Weleily in 2015. Nicol was also the first Asian to be ranked No. 1 in the now-defunct Women’s International Squash Players Association (Wispa) in 2006.

During her illustrious career, Nicol also won gold medals at the World Championships (three), Asian Games (five) and Commonwealth Games (two) as well as bagging the coveted British Open title twice.

Meanwhile, in KUALA LUMPUR, national track cycling ace  Mohd Azizulhasni Awang said Nicol’s retirement would be a great loss to the sporting fraternity but hoped that they would be inspired by the great success she achieved in squash. — Bernama