You would think having a Commonwealth Games looming would be enough for one man to focus on.
But for squash star Greg Lobban, he has the small matter of a wedding to look forward to eight days after the Games finish.
He and Donna Urquhart, who will represent Australia in the women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles, tie the knot in her homeland and both could have an additional reason to celebrate come their special day.
Lobban said: “We’re pretty much there; we’ve nailed down all the things we need to and we have people taking care of a few bits.
“What we’re dreaming of right now is both having a medal and we’re focusing on what we can do to make it happen. If it comes true, then it’ll just make the day even more special.
“It’s going to be full-on for a few weeks but the wedding is going to be relaxing, nothing too formal, and we’re going to use it as a chance to spend time with people that matter the most.”
A honeymoon will have to wait though – Lobban flies straight home after the wedding to join back up with Team Scotland ahead of the European Team Championships. Family from Inverness will have an extended stay Down Under, watching Lobban compete for glory and then get married.
Given the pair’s hectic schedule – Lobban is competing in singles and the doubles alongside fellow Highlander Alan Clyne – interaction during the Games may be brief.
Lobban said: “The singles week you have a bit more time but when the doubles week kicks in, with more matches, we’ll have our own schedules. But the coverage is so good out there, if we’re not there in person we’ll be watching on TV or online.”
The North Kessock player is representing Scotland at his second Games, having debuted in 2014 in Glasgow as a 21-year-old. In the intervening period far more experience has been accumulated, successes had and hurdles overcome.
He has been a regular for Scotland and alongside Clyne, winning the World Doubles Championships in 2016 and beating the Australians on home soil. They came close to repeating the trick last year, falling at the last. A torn hamstring in October 2016 sidelined him for six months but Lobban has rebounded, winning three PSA titles last summer and rising to a career-high 31 in the world rankings in December.
He said: “It’s not only squash experience but mental experience. I’ve played a Commonwealth Games before and I’m not going to be overawed. I know what to expect.
“The main difference will be the crowd interaction. They were all for us four years ago. We can still draw on the excitement of playing in front of so many people. The crowd is going to be on Australia’s side but we have gone there and won before. I’m sure we can do it again.”
That victory over David Palmer and Zac Alexander in August 2016 was the first tournament Clyne and Lobban had played as a pair.
They beat another Australian duo in the semi-final en-route to glory, paving the way for the partnership to flourish.
Both men grew up playing on the courts of Inverness Tennis and Squash Club before relocating to Edinburgh, the home of Scottish Squash.
Visits home are brief but both are proud representatives of their country; the two former Fortrose Academy pupils are the number one and two in the country. Clyne has held the number one spot for the best part of a decade.
Lobban fancies his chances of making progress in the singles but has acknowledged the best chance of success likely comes in the doubles. England and Australia will provide the main competition but there is a wiser, hungrier force heading Down Under from the north of the border.
Lobban said: “I didn’t go to Glasgow with any expectations or thoughts of winning a medal. It was my first Games, I was selected really late and I never considered myself as having a medal chance.
“But I have expectations now. I know we and I can do it. It’s a different kind of pressure.”