Sharing his pride with Malaysians on the success of the eight-time world champion, Muhyiddin hoped Penang-born Nicol, 37, will continue to motivate people in all fields.

“To the young generation who are just getting used to this sport and the back-up players who are developing their performance, take Nicol’s success as a morale booster for you to go further.

“With commitment and hard work, it is not impossible that you all can be like Datuk Nicol Ann David,” he said in a posting on Facebook.

The former world No 1 player for 109 consecutive months garnered the most votes in an online poll on the official World Games website, beating 23 others for the title.

Nicol, the sole Asian candidate, had led since the first day of voting on Jan 8. She received 318,943 votes, beating her closest challenger, Irish tug of war athlete James Kehoe, by a 200,000-vote margin. Third was Ukraine’s powerlifting athlete Larysa Soloviova.