And then there were two.
Cork's Killian Carroll and Galway's Martin Mulkerrins will meet in today's Open Singles final at the World Handball Championships in Minnesota, with a new champion set to be crowned regardless of the result, writes Paul Fitzpatrick.
The big news yesterday afternoon was that five-time defending champion Paul Brady – who hadn't lost a singles match at the Worlds since the 2000 semi-final in Chicago – was dramatically forced to withdraw with an ankle injury.
Brady picked up a grade two sprain to his right ankle with the scores tied at 5-5 in the first game last on Thursday night (Irish time) against Mexican Luis Cordova and while he limped to a courageous straight games win against the sixth-ranked American, the ankle injury was too severe and the Cavanman was forced to pull out.
That left Mulkerrins (24) straight through to today's final (5pm Irish time, live here) where the extra day's rest will help his challenge to overcome the Boston-based Mallow native. Both players have been in excellent form, with Mulkerrins thriving on the fast American courts and Carroll, who is based in Boston, showing the form which has seen him rise to number one on the WPH rankings.
In yesterday's semi-final, McCarthy came out shooting to win the first game in brilliant style against Carroll on a 21-13 scoreline but while the early exchanges in the second set were tight, from 12-8, Carroll elevated his game to win convincingly and force a decider.
Carroll started sharply in the tiebreaker, racing into an 8-1 lead with an awesome display. What looked like a turning point arrived when two line judges over-ruled referee David Steinberg on a short serve call but the Mullingar man could not capitalise and only forced two more points as Carroll won going away.
“It feels incredible to take Robbie down on a stage like this. He's a very difficult opponent, very deceptive and I just tried to move him around the court, tire him out and take my chances when they came,” said Carroll.
“I'm trying not to think about this as a World Championships, I'm treating it like any other tournament. I won't lie, I do feel a small bit of pressure but I just keep thinking that I have to give it my all, that's all I can do.”
Both Killian and Martin have impressed thus far in the competition. The Cork man’s speed and athleticism were always the hallmarks of his game but in the last two years he has added lethal firepower with both hands, transforming his game from that of a retriever to a shooter.
In the opposite corner is Team Ireland’s joint-captain Mulkerrins, an agricultural advisor with Teagasc. The Moycullen man is coming off the best season of his career, having won his maiden All-Ireland Senior Singles title against Charly Shanks back on St Patrick’s Day and will be fancied by many to add the world title this evening.
Carroll has beaten Arthur Sayed (New York, 21-5, 21-0), Stephen Cooney (Mayo, 21-18, 21-5), Diarmaid Nash (Clare, 21-14, 21-8) and McCarthy (13-21, 21-13, 11-3) to reach the final, with Mulkerrins seeing off Jeff Streibig (Minnesota, 21-4, 21-12), Michael Gregan (Wicklow, 21-8, 21-6) and Colin Crehan (Clare, 21-13, 21-17).
Also down for decision today are two mouthwatering Women’s Open Singles semi-finals between Catriona Casey (Cork) and Ciana Ní Churaoín (Galway) and holder Aisling Reilly (Antrim) and Limerick’s Martina McMahon.
WATCH THE ACTION LIVE HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YNlumZnX4g