Top Irish pair seeded to meet at Handball World Champs

Two of the leading lights of the official Irish squad are on track to meet in the World Handball Championships in Calgary, Canada, the draws for which were released yesterday.

Should the seeds hold up, Irish team captain Robbie McCarthy from Mullingar is in line to meet four-time defending champion and top seed Paul Brady in a mouthwatering semi-final.

And McCarthy (28), who has never beaten the Cavan maestro, is determined to buck the trend.

“I haven’t played Paul since March last year at a pro tournament in New York where the game went to a tiebreaker, but I’ve learned a lot since then,” said McCarthy, a Naval recruit based on the LE Eithne in Cork who recently passed out from Hawboline base in Cobh.

“The most important thing is that Paul Brady is only human, he pulls on his gloves to play, just like the rest of us.

“I used to fear playing Paul, I thought he was a machine, but things have clicked for me in the past few months and the Navy has taught me that only I can make things happen and that I control own my destiny.

“I’m really looking forward to the Worlds and I hope to play Paul. I’ve never been this confident and I’m excited about testing myself.”

Brady, though, has been king for 12 years since winning his first world title in Dublin in 2003.

He wears the crown lightly; the former Breffni footballer is unbeaten in the triennial event since, winning in Edmonton, Canada in 2006, Portland, Oregon in 2009 and Dublin again three years ago.

He has been in devastating form over the past nine months and says he is fully focused: “I’ve put my life on hold for the past few months to prepare for this event, and the closer it gets, the more real this all becomes,” said Brady.

“Obviously, I’m very proud of my achievements but I try not to think about what’s gone before. I take every tournament, and every game, on its own – I just want to keep winning.”

The Irish duo are joined in the men’s draw by Mallow sensation Killian Carroll (seeded seventh), former Clare underage hurler Diarmaid Nash (sixth) and Armagh’s Charly Shanks (eighth) along with a host of top American and Canadian players including highly-rated no 2 seed Luis Moreno of Arizona.

The 15-strong Irish squad arrived late on Sunday night. The tournament serves off today, with Open Singles beginning next Sunday.