North Kessock squash star wins silver at Edinburgh Open
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GREG Lobban says he relished the opportunity of playing a world-class tournament in front of a Scottish crowd despite falling short in the final of the Edinburgh Sports Club Open.
The Inverness Squash Club athlete was beaten 3-0 in the final by world number four Karim Abdel Gawad from Egypt.
Lobban produced two stunning upsets over world number five and defending champion, Paul Coll from New Zealand and former five-time winner and world number 20, Daryl Selby from England to reach the final on Sunday.
But North Kessock athlete Lobban, who is 27th in the world, proved no match against a dominant Gawad losing in straight sets.
Lobban admitted the Egyptian was too good in the final.
“I’m obviously disappointed that I couldn’t get over the line,” he said.
“I was trying so hard to get a foothold in the match.
“But everything I threw at him he just absorbed and threw back even more at me.”
But he loved the chance of playing in a world-class tournament in Scotland.
He hopes it will help the sport grow in the country.
He said: “I’ve had a really great week playing in front of a home crowd.
“Being able to produce some of the best performances of my career on home soil feels amazing.
“Even though I didn’t get the result I wanted today, I gave it my all.
“But it’s fantastic for our sport to be able to bring players like Karim to Scotland, and it shows just how healthy our sport is here.
“I hope we can build on the success of the tournament this year in the future.”
However there was success for Lobban’s wife Donna who won the women’s title.
The Australian, who is 37th in the world, won a tense 3–2 encounter against England’s Julianne Courtice to claim the trophy.
