I PLAY ON, VOWS NICOL

Peter Nicol, the most successful British squash player of all time, has announced that he is putting his retirement plans on hold.

Nicol, 32, was quick to dispel speculation that he will quit the professional game after the Commonwealth Games in Australia in March. He says he is as fit and hungry as ever after his mid-winter break and will continue to appear on the world tour as long as he is able to compete at the highest level.

The London-based left-hander is looking forward to his third appearance in the Games. He famously won a gold medal for Scotland in Malaysia in 1998 and a silver for England in Manchester in 2002, plus a second gold with Lee Beachill in the doubles.

In the short-term, however, his attention is focused on the ISS Canary Wharf Classic in February. A co-promoter of this PSA Five Star event, Nicol is keen to get a good performance under his belt in London’s Docklands during his build-up to this year’s Games in Melbourne.

He said: “I will definitely continue playing after the Commonwealth Games. I am committed to playing in the Bermuda Masters, the European Team Championships for England, and then it will be my 12th consecutive appearance in the PSA Super Series Finals in London in May.”

Nicol enjoyed a long and deserved rest during the Christmas and New Year period after a brutal playing schedule at the end of 2005, during which he helped England to their first World Team Championship title in Pakistan.

He said: “I had a fabulous rest with my family back home in Scotland. I ate well and slept well and managed to recharge my batteries in time to start training last week.

“I am feeling fairly tired after the workload I have done so far but that’s perfectly normal. I am feeling good about my fitness and am gearing up for a successful event at Canary Wharf and then the Commonwealth Games.

“We are facing another busy playing period with two tournaments in the USA before Canary Wharf, in Chicago and Dayton, plus the British National Championships in Manchester. Then, after Canary Wharf, it is back to the States for the Tournament of Champions in New York before going to Australia for the Commonwealth Games.

Nicol joined up with the England squad in Manchester this week to prepare for the Commonwealth Games and he was looking forward to teaming up with his doubles partner Beachill. He added: “I know that we will be having doubles practice every morning and that I will be partnering Lee. But apart from that I have no idea what the other pairings will be.”

Nicol became the first British player to reach number one in the PSA world rankings in February 1998 and held on to that position for more than six years. He has won every major title in the game, including the World Open and two British Open championships, plus a World Games gold medal in Germany last summer to rank alongside those Commonwealth Games successes.

He is refreshingly candid about his future in the sport and admitted: “I will carry on playing as long as I can compete. This season I know that when I have been focused and the body has been in good shape then I have been able to turn in some quality performances in major tournaments.

“I may not have won them but as long as I can do that then I will carry on playing.

“If I get to the stage where I am getting knocked out in the second round of tournaments, or reaching the quarter-finals and getting thumped, then I can’t see me doing that for too long.”

Nicol knows that he has a successful future ahead with his steadily developing Eventis Sports Marketing company, who are co-promoting the ISS Canary Wharf Classic with Squash UK, but he is clearly keen to delay the moment when he decides it is time to hang up his famous Prince racket.

Bron: www.squashsite.co.uk