Perthshire squash ace Rory Stewart will be "huge asset" for Scotland at World Team Championships

The Commonwealth Games medal-winner is a key cog of a four-man squad which will take to the court in Tauranga, New Zealand, from December 11-17

Muthill squash ace Rory Stewart is making final preparations ahead of representing Scotland at the World Team Championship.

The Commonwealth Games medal-winner is a key cog of a four-man squad which will take to the court in Tauranga, New Zealand, from December 11-17.

Strathearn star Stewart is joined by Greg Lobban, Alan Clyne and Alasdair Prott. The latter is making his debut in the event.

Scotland - and Stewart - will look for another strong performance in the event after topping their group and securing a seventh place finish when it was last held.

Paul Bell, Scottish Squash elite performance coach, said: “We are thrilled to be competing on the world stage once again.

“The women’s team performed brilliantly last year in Egypt, and we have a very strong men’s team heading out to New Zealand looking to improve on the seventh place finish they achieved in 2019.

“There is a great blend of experience and youth, with Alan Clyne returning to represent his country after a fantastic display at the Europeans in April.”

He went on to add: “All of the teams at events like these are very strong, so this is a fantastic opportunity for development, to show that we can compete with the best in the world and to try to come home with a medal.”

On what Stewart will bring to the team this time around, Bell told the PA: “Rory is now the Scottish number two and it will be his first world champs in this position.

“There is more pressure on him and tougher opponents. But he has been playing well over the past few events and has been steadily progressing up the PSA rankings - now up to 41 - so I believe he will be a huge asset for us at number two.”

At last year’s Commonwealth Games, former Crieff High School pupil Stewart famously secured a men’s doubles bronze medal for Scotland with playing partner Lobban.

Lobban is looking forward to teaming up with Stewart and the rest of the squad.

“I’m excited to be heading out to New Zealand for the World Team Championships – I was there last year for an event and it’s clear they love their squash out there,” he said.

“The thing that excites me most is the fact that we’re going to be competing as a team with guys that I’ve played with for a long time now – we’re all players that love playing for Scotland and this is another great opportunity to do so.”

The event will feature over 100 squash players from 24 countries and will mark a welcome return as the first edition since 2019 due to Covid-19.

The last three editions of the competition have seen Scotland finishing in the top 10 – from ninth in 2013, eighth in 2017 and a high of seventh in Washington DC four years ago.

Bell concluded: “We are seeded seven for the event so another top eight finish would be great.

“That being said, there is very little between seeds four and 12 so a finish anywhere in that region is possible.

“Fourth place would mean winning a medal which is something we have never done at world championships level so that is a great thing to aspire to.”

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