I join all Malaysians in congratulating Nicol David on her success in the World Squash Championships recently. Indeed she has brought honour and glory to the nation and as Malaysians we must be all very proud of her.

Equally gratifying was the response to her victory from various segments of the Malaysian society especially from national and state leaders. The keen interest taken by our prime minister in personally congratulating Nicol was another praiseworthy action. State leaders led by the Penang chief minister himself were at the airport to receive her followed by reception by the governor of Penang.

Apart from these, there were the numerous gifts and monetary pledges from various government and private organisations which I hope will really reach the truly deserving Nicol. But a disturbing trend appears to be setting in today where our youngsters are encouraged to strive more for monetary rewards rather than for national pride. In most developed and even in many developing countries, national pride is the driving force for the superior performance of their sportsmen and sportswomen.

Amidst all our jubilation, we should not forget that for every Nicol David, there are thousands of youngsters who are deprived of basic training facilities for not just squash but for football, badminton, hockey, athletics, etc. They do not have access to basic sports facilities as either these are not available in their area or are too costly for them to afford. Whatever public facilities available freely were taken away and converted to commercial centres in the name of national development.

In many sports like football and hockey, Malaysia - which was of world-class standard once - has lost its former glamour and status.

If all our children and young adults are provided with free and easily available basic sports facilities and are given the opportunity to strive based on merit and without political intervention, our nation will be able to produce many more world champions like Nicol David.

I hope our leaders who have shown so much care and concern for Nicol will also seriously consider more definitive measures to uplift the standard of sports in our country.