New Delhi: Frenchman Thierry Lincou, the first continental European to top the men`s world squash rankings, has announced his retirement from the PSA World Tour.
Winner of the world title in 2004, twice a European champion and a record 11-time French national champion, Lincou has enjoyed a remarkable career. In his 44th Tour final appearance in April this year, he won the last of his 23 Tour titles at the Bluenose Classic in Canada - on the eve of his 36th birthday.
"I was seeing players of my generation retiring one after the other, David Palmer, Stewart Boswell. And I had been thinking very seriously about my reconversion," said Lincou.
"I received a few interesting offers recently, and I felt that maybe, I was starting to lose a bit of motivation. A year more could have been the year too many, as my recent physical niggles made me realise I was not getting any younger, and that it was harder and harder to maintain myself at the highest level," he said.
First topping the PSA world rankings in January 2004, Lincou went on to reign supreme throughout 2005. In April 2011, he celebrated 10 unbroken years in the world top 10 - one of only a handful of players in the sport`s history to achieve this incredible feat.
Among his most memorable moments, of course, is his World Open title which he grabbed against England`s Lee Beachill in December 2004, saving a match ball in the fourth.
Does he have a few regrets about his career? Yes. Like not winning the British Open - despite reaching two finals (against Nick Matthew and Gregory Gaultier), or just missing out on the World Team title in Odense, in 2009.
Lincou has been chosen by the World Squash Federation to present the 2016 Olympic Bid in Lausanne.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, September 01, 2012, 13:53