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Peter Nicol Outlines Dreams for Squash 2016
Squash 2016,
the sport's bid for inclusion in the Olympic Games, used the high-profile
ATCO Super Series Finals in London as a platform to outline the key
elements of their campaign, with former world No1 Peter Nicol making a
presentation at a Squash 2016 press conference.
Nicol not only expressed
the key messages of the bid, but also gave a more personal insight into his
feelings surrounding Squash being included as an Olympic sport: "If I'd been
given the opportunity, I would have been there," said the former world champion
and winner of more than 50 international titles.
"My four Commonwealth
Games gold medals were my best achievements as a squash player. So I can only
imagine what it would be like to be an Olympian. It would be the highest honour
in the squash world."
Nicol also outlined the
positive economic arguments that the sport of squash has in its favour: "We are
an economical sport: we can share facilities and we add a relatively small
number of athletes. Also we will donate the glass court required to stage the
matches in to the host city, so they can derive a real legacy benefit from it."
Having delivered his
presentation, Nicol was joined by ATCO Super Series Finals finalist Thierry
Lincou, who reiterated that it was indeed every aspiring sportsman’s dream
to represent his country at the Olympic Games: "I feel the greatest achievement
any sportsman can achieve would be an Olympic medal - it’s my ultimate goal,"
said the Frenchman.
Lincou was later beaten by
compatriot Gregory Gaultier in a hard-fought battle for the flagship PSA
Tour title. Gaultier had earlier defeated world number one Karim Darwish
in the tournament to reach the final. The ATCO Super Series Finals, held for
the first time at The Queen’s Club in London, is a unique four-day tournament,
featuring eight of the world’s top male squash players.
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