Mallow Handball Club has brought home an amazing 10 medals from the World Handball Championships 2012, 3 gold and 7 silver. The medal winners from Mallow Handball Club were: Killian Carroll (1 gold, 2 silver), Tadgh Carroll (1 gold, 1 silver), Tadhg O’Neill (gold), Dale Cusack (silver), Pa Herlihy (silver), Ryan Harkin (silver), Cian O’Driscoll (silver).
The hard work put in by players, coaches, committee members and parents throughout the last three years and their tireless commitment to one of our traditional games has earned Mallow Handball Club a place among the top handball clubs in the world. The determination of these athletes to achieve success in the World Championships was palpable thoughout the year with two years hard work already put in and this year’s training regime just seemed relentless in its intensity. On the months running up to the competition alley time was at an all time premium in Mallow Handball Club, with some handballers training up to three times a day. The manner in which these lads from Mallow set about attaining World titles was akin to athletes preparing for the Olympics.
GAA Handball in conjunction with The Citywest Arena played host to “one of the finest Irish sporting spectacles seen to date.” Following a full week and a half of incredible GAA Handball action, the final few days saw Mallow Handball Club securing a host of titles by the very best players Mallow Handball Club had to offer across a host of grades in the World Handball Championships 2012.
The GAA have invested considerably in the development of this GAA sport and as a result the World Championships saw record attendances over the course of the 11 day event, where 21 courts had been purpose-built in the Citywest Arena, which was one of the most exciting international sporting events in Ireland this year.
All the action got under way from 10am on Thursday 11th which saw 30 schools from around Ireland participate also in a mini Olympic style event. The students got to meet the stars of Ireland, the USA and many other countries that participated in coaching and mini games.
The highlight of the opening day of the event got under way at 5.15pm with Ireland v USA in the Showdown Cup tie. The top 8 US and Ireland stars went head to head in a Ryder Cup style event where an awesome atmosphere in the much vaunted elevated Glass Show court in front of 2,000 spectators got under way, with the USA coming out on top. During the following 10 days of competition, along with winning 10 medals, many handballers from Mallow Handball Club reached quarter final and semi final stages in the competition which in itself is a huge achievement considering that they were competing against the best handballers in the world. The very fact that 29 handballers from Mallow Handball Club competed in the competition which saw over 2,000 players from 30 countries shows the quality of handball being played in Mallow.
Mallow Handball Club wishes to thank everyone who has contributed to its fundraising efforts over the last year without which we could not have achieved such success in the 2012 World Handball Championships. Go raibh maith agat a chara. More detailed analysis of the games will follow in the coming weeks.