Last Friday, to wrap up the month of October — also known as Mental Health Awareness Month — the Nicol David Organisation (NDO) held its first-ever Sports & Mental Health Summit 2025 at Pavilion Bukit Jalil, and we had the pleasure of being there to experience the occasion. Led by Datuk Nicol David, the event was held across four days and brought athletes, educators, leaders and families together to make one single message loud and clear: championing the power of sport and physical activity to strengthen mental health, especially for the children and youth of Malaysia.
As part of the Sports & Mental Health Summit 2025, Lifestyle Asia and the NDO came together on 31st October to host a friendly pickleball session with friends of LSA. And in line with the #PlayForMentalHealth tagline, the match went beyond just competition — it was about connection, joy, and taking care of our minds together. (Although there were indeed prizes awarded to the winners!)
Among the friends of LSA in attendance and all geared up for pickleball were the girls of De Fam — Azira Shafinaz, Cik Manggis and Sophia Liana — former Miss Malaysia Tourism Weena Marcus, actors Ziha Salleh, Daniel Fong and Ismail Izzani, content creators Nurul Ain Yusoff, Lee Ming and Melissa Th’ng, Oui Bakehouse & Café co-founder Yuth Gan, Edward Chen, as well as pro wrestler Nor ‘Phoenix’ Diana.
As soon as our players arrived, Datuk Nicol David gave everyone a welcome note — and yet another friendly reminder that the game was, first and foremost, for fun. After a warm-up session, a special pickleball clinic was instructed by legendary squash player and pickleball coach Delia Arnold, as well as Malaysia’s top female pickleball player, Toh Sieu Ee. Among our friends of LSA is also Cik Manggis, one third of De Fam and pro pickleball coach — and she along with Datuk Nicol David led the first exhibition match against the pair of instructors.
Thus the real pickleball match kicked off, in a classic round-robin competition. And match after heated match, the final came down to Datuk Nicol David and Daniel Fong against Melissa Th’ng and Ismail Izzani, with the latter pair emerging as winners. On top of getting into the fitness of things, we also had some delicious in-between game bites, courtesy of Elegant Fine Caviar, provided by the court.
Learn more about the Nicol David Organisation HERE.
Note : The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
