If so, Nicol David is leading an afterlife every bit as rewarding as her two decades as Malaysia’s top sportswoman. If not more so.

Four years since hanging up her competitive racquet, the first lady of squash is now “giving back”, as she puts it.

And in less than a year, scores of children, parents and teachers are already saying she is just as generous to her new charges as she was stingy in conceding points on court.

With the lofty goal of “empowering girls and boys through sport and education”, the Duracell Bunny runs the Nicol David Organisation (NDO) with all her old commitment and some new-found skills.

Unlike many foundations to which sports stars attach their names, NDO offers a unique opportunity to play squash, learn English and much more besides.

As co-founder, coach, benefactor, headmistress, cheerleader, favourite aunt and guardian angel, she has her hands more than full with what she dubs her “little legends” – and she’s loving it.

“I never thought I’d have so much fun with it,” she laughs.

Asked if it’s more difficult than playing, she says: “It’s a different kind of challenge. In squash, I knew what I was getting myself into, this I don’t!”

Amused by some of the unexpected roles she has to play, along with Colombian co-founder and CEO, Mariana de Reyes, the pair are surprised at how deeply they’ve become involved.

Mariana said: “We’ve taken the kids under our wing; we know them by heart. Mums and dads and teachers too.

“Kids come in and hug you and say, ‘today I did this, I did that’. It might be a simple exercise they’ve completed but they’re so happy.”

A simple wish to help has taken on a life of its own with substantial corporate and ministerial backing.

And neither of the two women realised it would become the all-encompassing tutoring-cum-nurturing mission it has.

“It took all our braincells to plan it,” says Mariana, a former Pan-American squash champion whom Nicol met while on high-altitude training in Colombia.

While Mariana still utilises her business background, Nicol has gone from being able to make a small rubber ball talk to conversing with kids who don’t know how to hold a racquet, let alone hit the thing.

“It can be humbling,” Nicol admits, “and we also encounter heartache – as many as 15 of the initial intake of 62 children had poor eyesight.

“Some couldn’t read and were starting to squint. So we took them to Optimax, one of our supporters, to get their sight corrected.”

The experience was also an eye-opener for Nicol who said: “As you go deeper into understanding each child, and their needs, we’re discovering ourselves while doing it.”

“We know the kids by heart. Mums and dads and teachers too. If we don’t pay attention to them, we’re letting them down.”

For a token sum of between RM40 and RM350 a month, depending on their parents’ income, a child receives eight hour-long lessons in both squash and English from qualified tutors. On top of that, there is transportation to and from the school and snacks.

With normal tuition fees costing RM100 per hour and squash RM150, such instruction would be way beyond most family budgets.

The cost is borne by sponsors, many of whom have stuck with Nicol from her playing career, the government and herself.

Asked if her heart is more into this than it was into playing, she doesn’t hesitate: “This,” she answers. “I had plenty of heart in playing but I don’t really know how all that happened – it’s so long ago. The most fulfilled I feel now is here.”

Amazing career, extraordinary sequel

We are in a classroom that’s part of an annex to the Bukit Jalil Golf & Country Club, another of her sponsors. Next door are two courts. NDO’s modest appearance gives no hint of the good it’s doing.

It was always going to be a tall order for Nicol to find a cause worthy enough to follow her imperious 108-month reign as world No 1.

It put her in the company of immortals with only Tiger Woods, in golf, and Edwin Moses, in the 400m hurdles, having surpassed her longevity in all of sport.

Her whole career was an extraordinarily tough act to follow, but an extraordinary sequel is already being made.

Even so, like many athletes, she admits to having been scared by retirement.

“It was quite daunting at first as playing squash was all I knew. It was a scary place to be when I knew my time was coming to an end.

“Once I’d committed to do things for children, the future was not so daunting – it had so much hope, so many dreams.

“I knew that Malaysia had given me so much support that when I thought about kids without that opportunity, without the chance to build confidence and identity in something active that I had, I wanted to change that – and give them the chance.”

Still, it was a gamble as Mariana acknowledges: “Nicol’s name opens doors in the corporate world.”

Among the sponsors are the youth and sports ministry, Yayasan Hasanah, Yayasan Sime Darby, AIA Malaysia, Coway Malaysia, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, JD Sports, Dunlop and Berjaya clubs.

Underlining her global appeal, the US Embassy has assigned a teacher to supervise English lessons based on the education ministry curriculum.

With permission from the ministry, they chose four partner schools in the Bukit Jalil area.

Mariana said: “We worked together with schools, had meetings with the heads and they loved it: they don’t get many programmes like this, combining sport and education.

“We thought it would be great for B40 families. They then became our allies in recruiting as parents had an interest.”

Asked what they offer sponsors, she said: “Brand awareness and an opportunity for them to send staff as part of their CSR programmes.

“We make trips such as to the KL Bird Park for example or the Coway Run in Putrajaya.”

Nicol added: “Everyone’s happy: kids, sponsors, parents. Kids would rather skip school than skip coming here. One of biggest things is they enjoy it – and they feel safe.

“We’ve found it changes kids. They walk in with more confidence, are stronger playing more squash and so much fitter.

“There’s a vast improvement all round; they have more self-esteem and a better vocabulary. They’re even doing better in school after all this.”

Next month will see a second intake so 120 kids will be under the wing of the NDO. Said Mariana: “5,000 is our goal and we joked that it could take 25 years.

“We want to give kids a chance in life but would also like to deliver three to five really good squash players to the Malaysian team.

Nicol said: “They sign up for five years but we want to see them through their development. So, if we have a 10-year plan, it might not be ‘little legends’ any more but something to complement what they’ve already achieved.”

You could say the same about Nicol: Malaysian women’s sport’s biggest legend may be retired but is already adding a new lustre.