A total of 10 Irish players have made it through to the round of 16 in the Men’s Open Singles at the 2023 World Handball Invitational & 72nd USHA National Four-Wall Championships at the University of Minnesota Recreation and Wellness Center in Minneapolis, writes Paul Fitzpatrick.
Top seed and defending US champion Diarmaid Nash got a bye in the round of 32 and will take on Californian Loren Collado tomorrow.
Last year’s runner-up, Martin Mulkerrins, is seeded fourth and had a comfortable win over Peter Jansen from Sacramento.
World champion Killian Carroll won 21-2, 21-0 against David Elkin from Illinois while elsewhere, there were wins for Niall O’Connor (now based in Canada), New York-based Mayo man Stephen Cppney, Wexford youngster Mark Doyle, Peter and Patrick Funchion and David Walsh of Cork.
Kilkenny’s Shane Dunne, like Doyle currently studying in Minnesota, won by forfeit while out of luck were this year’s All-Ireland Intermediate Singles and Junior Singles champions Gavin Coyle and Joe Dillon respectively and Mallow man Conor Walsh.
Action in the Men’s Open continues tomorrow at 9pm Irish time. Ireland are represented by Catriona Casey, Fiona Tully, Clodagh Munroe and Aishling O’Keeffe in the Women’s Open, which serves off tomorrow.
View the draws here.