Greg Lobban says it was intense drive to compete that kept his squash career going after admitting to considering retirement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 29-year-old from Inverness made history at Birmingham 2022 by winning Team Scotland’s first squash medal since 1998 alongside doubles partner Rory Stewart.
The pair pushed England’s Adrian Waller and Daryl Selby all the way in their semi-final. But their medal hopes would come down to the final day of competition with a bronze medal match against Malaysian pair Ivan Yurn and Ein Yow Ng.
History
The Scots edged a tight first game 11-10 before seizing control and a piece of history by winning the second 11-6.
Greg told the Press and Journal: “We knew that’s been hanging over our heads for a number of years and probably got the better of us.
“We’ve had success in the past – fourth place at three Commonwealth Games is nothing to shy away from, it’s a great achievement.
“But to come through with something with Rory – he’s always been a big-stage player and when he gets on that stage, that’s when his best squash comes out. When he’s playing partner events and in the singles in the years to come, he’s one to watch out for, for sure.”
Greg has been supported for many years by the sportscotland institute of sport, including through injury and recovery as well as coaching and physical preparation when he is in Scotland. He has also had continuous support from Scottish Squash.
But future squash success was looking far from certain for Greg during the pandemic. Lobban’s favourite TV show is ‘SAS: Who Dares Wins’ with Ant Middleton and his sporting idol is Sir Andy Murray - he is hard-wired to compete.
So when competition was halted during the pandemic, he admits he struggled to find his drive.
He said: “I’m in love with competing. I really struggled with not having competitions every week and something to aim for.
"I feel like I’m in a much better place now and it’s great that we’re back.
“I definitely questioned [his future]. I’ve got a different relationship with my sport to most people, so when the competition stopped, I started looking around for what else would excite me.
“The fact the sport came back when it did was great. I thought [about retiring] a bit but it came back when I needed it.
“All athletes are wired to be competitive in anything we do. I always knew I wanted to be in intense, high-pressure situations and that comes with being competitive.
“It’s my personality and something I can’t really do anything about. Even after I retire, I’ll always strive to get better every day.”
Greg’s love for competing didn’t change in Birmingham, despite facing his wife on court in the mixed doubles quarter-finals.
Donna lined up for Australia alongside Cameron Pilley while Greg teamed up Lisa Aitken for Scotland. It started well for the Scots, taking the opening game 11-9. But the win went to Australia, along with the bragging rights in the Lobban household, as they took the next two games 11-8.
Greg said: “It was a very close game and we came up short. I’m just really proud of Lisa and how she handled it, she played a really good game and I’m proud of her.
“It was really tough out there but we had a game plan going into it and I think myself and Donna both expected it, we’re both competitors, that’s our profession.
“It’s what we’ve been doing for a long time so we knew how to split that apart and I think we did. We treated it like any other match. We can be proud of our performances.
“If I was to lose to one team it would be them but I’m just absolutely gutted for us that it’s at the quarter-final stage and not in the medal matches.”
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