David speeds through in 20 minutes

Nicol David took less than 20 minutes to make a successful start to her bid to win the only major title to elude her as she overcame Damindhi Udangawe of Sri Lanka in the Commonwealth Games first round.

World champion David, who has been world number one for 55 successive months, won 11-2, 11-4, 11-2 against a 19-year-old who has yet to play on the world tour.

"It gives you a little bit of extra push," she said of the atmosphere generated by being part of a squad of players which is utterly different from playing month in month out just for herself.

Mindset

"Of course you want to keep the squash mindset, but it's an added extra when you are in the Games, and in the Games village with different athletes.

"In the middle of all that stuff you feel pretty special," added the player who is already so special that she has the title of Datuk - equivalent to a British dame or knight - and her country's Order of Merit for special services to arts, sciences, humanities, or sports.

Four years ago in Melbourne David was sensationally beaten in the semi-finals by Natalie Grinham, and privately it will be difficult for her not to feel the next ten days as an attempt at atonement.

But she preferred not to place that pressure on herself publicly.

Motivation

"I've learnt a lot from lot from the last few years and from the last few games," she countered, when this motivation was suggested.

"I just want to bring forward whatever I've done in the last few months and take that energy forward."

Earlier David Palmer, one of only a handful of players making his fourth appearance in the Commonwealth Games, began by beating Malawi's Julius Taulo 11-1, 11-2, 11-3.

Palmer won twice in a day when he later overcame Andrew McDougall of Canada 11-3, 11-5, 11-6, earning himself a potentially difficult last 16 against Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee.

Twice a former world champion, Palmer may retire this year at the age of 34 and is seeking to complete a full set of Commonwealth medals.

Number nine

The world number nine from Australia won bronze in the Manchester in 2002, and silver in 2006 in Melbourne, and still believes that a gold in Delhi is possible.

"It would be nice to finish off with that - but it won't be easy," said Palmer, who is second only to the legendary Geoff Hunt as the most successful Aussie male squash player.

Nick Matthew, the favourite for the men's singles gold, had to struggle surprisingly hard to win his opening encounter against Mohammed Nafizwan Adnan, the world number 52 from Malaysia.

Matthew had to recover from 7-10 down in the third game and save four game points before surviving 11-6, 13-11, 8-11, 11-3.

First match

"Sometimes having a hard first match can work in your favour," said the Englishman who topped the world rankings earlier in the year.

He next plays another Malaysian, Aamir Atlas Khan, the tenth seed. The only seed to go out was Martin Knight, the 15th seed from New Zealand, beaten 11-8, 11-4, 12-14, 11-3 by Chris Simpson, the first Guernsey man ever to reach the last 16.