THERE’S not many Scots who go into a World Championships with the belief they could come out the other side with not one, but two gold medals. 

But as Greg Lobban begins his campaign at the World Doubles Squash Championships today, that’s exactly the ambition he possesses. 

Achieving such a lofty target is, clearly, easier said than done. 

But there are a few factors that suggest Lobban has more of a chance than most of fulfilling his goal. 

Firstly, he will be on home soil. 

For the first time ever, Scotland will host the World Doubles Championships, with the six-day-long event beginning this morning at Scotstoun. 

And secondly, Lobban knows exactly what it takes to win a world doubles title. 

Back in 2016, the Inverness man claimed men’s doubles gold alongside Alan Clyne, becoming Scotland’s first world champions in the sport since Peter Nicol in 1999. 

It was quite an achievement and means Lobban goes into this week’s event, where he will partner Rory Stewart in the men’s doubles and Lisa Aitken in the mixed doubles, with the confidence he could add one, or even two, more world titles to his name. 

“I believe we’ve got a good chance of gold in both events but more than anything, it’s exciting to be in the mix,” the 29-year-old says.  

“We want to be in the position of being in there fighting for medals - in both events, there’s six or eight partnerships who could win so to be in that group is a good place to be.  

“And I don’t think the event being in Scotland brings too much pressure - I’m just so excited to be playing at home and it’s great having such a huge event here.” 

Doubles is rarely played at the top level in squash, with singles tournaments, more often than not in the USA or Egypt, dominating the calendar. 

And so while Lobban spends most of his season concentrating purely on himself, his doubles track record means he knows exactly what to focus on over the next six days. 

“Rory and I have been playing together for a few years now and things have been going really well in practice. We blend together very well and he’s been getting some good results recently so I’m excited to play together. 

I wanted to play mixed because I’m excited about Lisa as a partner – she’s an excellent doubles player,” he says. 

“In doubles, the tactical side is huge – it’s about focusing on the tactics you as a pair can bring to the court because with doubles being played so rarely throughout the year, it’s hard to know exactly what other teams are going to bring so it’s about doing everything you can as a pair to make sure you bring your A-game. You’ve got to get out the blocks fast.” 

Lobban is currently ranked 37 in the world in singles, having been at a career-high of 21 a couple of years ago. 

He is, he believes, approaching something close to his best form having endured a run of below-par results and a crisis of confidence last year. 

The changes he made to drag himself out of his slump, though, have rejuvenated his game just in time for this tilt at the World Championships. 

“Last year, I was struggling with confidence and my form wasn’t great but since January, I’ve turned a corner and had some good wins and so I’m feeling positive,” he says. 

“I’d been continuing doing what I do and I thought it would all come good but it didn’t, nothing was happening so I had to strip everything back and I felt like it was the mental side of it I needed to focus on. 

“Last season, I just felt very low and had to take action so since then, the changes have worked well and I’m very happy about that.” 

These World Championships are not the only major focus of Lobban’s year. 

In just four months, the Commonwealth Games will begin in Birmingham and with Lobban having finished fourth in the men’s doubles in 2018, he is keen to upgrade to a place on the podium this time around. 

This week’s World Championships will determine the qualifiers and seeds for Birmingham 2022, which gives the Glasgow tournament an extra significance and if anything, Commonwealth Games success is even more coveted by Lobban than success this week, particularly having missed out on a medal four years ago. 

“This is a huge week in Glasgow but maybe even more so, we want to do well at the Commonwealth Games,” he says. 

“Finishing fourth in Gold Coast was the worst I’d ever felt immediately after a match. 

“I definitely don’t want to feel like that again but I feel like the lessons I learnt in Gold Coast will be really helpful if I’m in a similar position in Birmingham.  

“Knowing I was so close before does bring an element of pressure but it also brings with it a confidence that I’ve been there before in the medal matches and I know for sure we can get there again if we have a good week.  

“So if I am there again this summer, I’ll be much more prepared for it.”