Brunei Treated To Top-Class Squash "Brunei treated to top-class squash" was the headline in the Borneo Bulletin for the second day that the sport provided a rare alternative to World Cup football in Brunei where Australia's world No1 and four-times world champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald and Malaysia's twice world junior champion Nicol David were promoting women's squash on the second leg of their tour of Asia. The visit to the capital city Bandar Seri Begawan was part of a ten-day tour organised by the Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA), in which David, the 18-year-old Asian champion, and Fitz-Gerald, the President of WISPA, led coaching clinics with youngsters, met the national media, and played a variety of exhibition matches. The party's first port of call was the impressive Jerudong Park Country Club, whose CEO Denis Bin HJ Roslee is also President of the Brunei Squash Rackets Association. The luxurious complex boasts three floodlit polo pitches, a championship golf course, a theme park and a lavish sport club which amazingly features two permanently-sited all-glass squash courts side-by-side. [Sarah Fitz-Gerald (left) and Nicol David with Dato Paduka Hj Yaakub bin Abu Bakar, Brunei's Deputy Minister of Finance (second left) and Denis Bin HJ Roslee, President of the Brunei Squash Rackets Association] Fitz-Gerald and David performed in front of a distinguished audience of BSRA guests which included Dato Paduka Hj Abdul Rahman bin Hj Mohiddin, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs; Dato Paduka Hj Yaakub bin Abu Bakar, Deputy Minister of Finance; and Glen Raise, the former US Ambassador in Brunei, now regional manager at Citibank. Nicol took on Ak Khairal Amir, the Brunei junior champion, whilst Sarah faced Ak Hasanan, the U-16 No1. With his schooling now behind him, Amir plans to play squash full-time in South East Asia before considering becoming a PSA member. Hasanan still has a further year at school ahead of him, but was overjoyed at his chance to play against the world No1. "I've never played a world champion before - it was a great experience from which I learned a lot," enthused the youngster. [Nicol (left) and Sarah with opponents Ak Hasanan (second left) and Ak Khairal Amir at the Jerudong Park Country Club] Minister Abu Bakar, who had earlier dismissed the light-hearted proposal put to him that he himself should challenge the visitors, was so impressed by the pair's later exhibition match that he immediately left the club to return home to collect his squash kit and racket. On his return, the 55-year-old acting Finance Minister, a regular 2-3 times a week player, played a best-of-one game with both Fitz-Gerald and Nicol before slumping into a seat beside the court to relish his experience. "They make it look so easy and hardly seem to tire at all," he said afterwards. "How do they do it?" After getting his breath back, the Brunei dignitary conceded: "It's not every day you get the chance to play two world champions - I just hope my next opponent suffers the way I did just now!" Brunei, a small country on the island of Borneo surrounded by Malaysian states Sarawak and Sabah, has less than 50 courts. Alongside sports like football, tennis and badminton, squash has been included in the country's 'National Youth Scheme', and the Ministry of Welfare, Youth and Sport funds National coach Tarmidi Saad, a former Malaysian national player who came to Brunei seven years ago. "A lot of people here take up squash when they start working," said the BSRA's Arine Haji Budin. Many Brunei companies have their own courts, like the Fire Service whose newly-constructed HQ features two courts. "We are succeeding in changing this mindset and introducing the sport to children and students. After a successful initiative with secondary schools, next year we plan to introduce squash as an extra-curricular activity in primary schools - and we already have five schools interested," enthused Arine. Talking on the second day, when the WISPA party had moved to the National Sports Stadium's Squash Centre - packed with youngsters of all ages - Arine pointed out: "Five years ago there wouldn't have been a single student here!" The centre boasts seven glass-backed courts in a row - plus a spectacular three-sided glass showcourt surrounded by some 500 fixed seats in an air-conditioned arena! "Sadly, this facility is severely under-utilised - the last event we had here was in 1999 when Brunei hosted the South East Asia (SEA) Games," said Arine. National Youth Scheme students enjoyed a brief coaching session with Fitz-Gerald and David, before the pair took on local male opposition, then entertained the enthusiastic crowd with an exhibition match. Nicol played Sarah's previous day's opponent Ak Hasanan, while the students then revelled in the sight of National coach Tarmidi Saad being grilled by Fitz-Gerald. [Brunei youngsters show Nicol David how to grip a racket!] "They have been wonderful ambassadors for squash here," said Saad afterwards of the WISPA stars. "But the best aspect of this visit is that it has really opened the eyes of the country's sports officials to the appeal of squash - they have seen so many people here keen to watch the sport. "And the kids themselves have been truly inspired - already my youngsters have been coming into my office this afternoon asking if we will be training tomorrow!" said the jubilant national coach. Earlier in the day, Fitz-Gerald and David visited local sponsors QAF Brunei where they met HRH Prince Abdul Qawi, nephew of the Sultan of Brunei. A full page in the following day's Borneo Bulletin covered this visit, together with further coverage of the pair's on-court activities in the sports pages. One aspect of the Brunei visit that has been an insight for the WISPA team is the adulation which greeted Malaysian and Asian star Nicol David wherever the group visits, whether squash centre or airport lounge. "If Nicol had earned a Brunei dollar for every photograph she was asked to pose for here, she'd be a rich girl," observed WISPA Director Andrew Shelley. In thanking the Brunei hosts for their lavish hospitality, WISPA President Sarah Fitz-Gerald highlighted the fantastic facilities that are available in the country. "You are so lucky to have facilities which you don't even see in countries like Australia and England. We have had a wonderful time here, and would love to come back to put your courts to good use with a first ever WISPA tournament here."   [Two current WISPA stars with potential stars of the future!]