The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Perthshire ace relishing European Championships after rankings rise
Crieff squash ace Rory Stewart believes he is good enough to break into the world’s top 100 before the end of the year after an impressive start to 2017.
The 20-year-old heads to Galway next Tuesday for the West of Ireland Open as he looks to continue his rise up the pro rankings before competing in another PSA event in France the following week ahead of Scotland’s European Championship Division One campaign at the end of the month.
Stewart was ranked 309 in January but has climbed to 255 in the latest rankings released last week.
His rise comes off the back of impressive wins at the British and Scottish Under-23 Championships recently and a third-place finish at the Sterling Trucks Scottish Senior Nationals in Edinburgh.
He said: “I am happy with how I am playing and it’s an exciting few weeks ahead with the European Championships at the end of the month in Helsinki.
“Hopefully I can get some confidence under my belt before the Europeans at these two PSA events.
“I want to try and get into the top 100 by the end of the year if I can which means a lot of travelling and a lot of tournaments.
“I think I’m playing well enough to compete with these top 100 guys and the upcoming PSA events will be a good indicator of where I’m at.”
Scotland finished third in last year’s European Championships and Stewart is hoping for more success when he joins team-mates Alan Clyne, Greg Lobban, Douglas Kempsall, Kevin Moran and Stuart George in Finland for the event, which starts on April 26.
He added: “We have a strong squad and I think an advantage over other countries in that we all train together at the Oriam Performance Centre in Edinburgh.
“We feed off each other and are a tight-knit group and hopefully we can medal again in Helsinki.
“It’s my third year competing at the Europeans and we all enjoy playing as a team and pulling on the Scotland jersey.”