Young squash champ attributes success to mum, family
GEORGE TOWN:Nothing compares to the unconditional love, support and sacrifices a mother makes, and it holds true for M. Nickhileswar, the recently crowned champion of the Under11 Dunlop British Junior Open squash title in Birmingham.
“I owe my success to my family and especially my mother for her support,” said the Year Four pupil of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) Permatang Tinggi, Bukit Mertajam.
His victory on Sunday was all the more sweeter as it was his mother’s birthday the following day, he told reporters upon his return at the Penang International Airport on Wednesdaynight.
Dedicating his victory to his mother, Shanthimary Palvinder Kaur, 43, Nickhileswar said that despite the pressure during the tournament, he kept his spirits up and persevered to give his best shot and emerged the champion.
“This is the biggest tournament I’ve won so far since being involved in this sport,” said the younger of two siblings, adding that he took up squash just three years ago.
“I felt a bit stressed before the game because I wanted to win, but all the effort, the focus and consistent training with the best coaches, six times a week, have brought results,” said the 10-year-old, who practised and trained at the Nicol David International Squash Centre in Jelutong here.
Shanthimary said she was happy and proud of her son’s achievement.
“Of course, he is worthy of his success as he puts in a lot of effort into the sport,” said the bank employee.
Nickhileswar’s father, Moganasundharam Sathisivan, 44, described his son’s success as “the beginning”.
He said that while there was so much more his son had to learn, he wanted Nickhileswar to achieve the kind of success attained by the nation’s squash queen, Datuk Nicol David.
SJKT Permatang Tinggi school management chairman Datuk Pulayantran Kayambu said Nickhileswar’s success should be an example and pride for Malaysians.