Devlin's reputation enhanced in New York

Paul Fitzpatrick at Coney Island

Ben Devlin may not have returned from New York with a world title, but the Kingscourt clubman certainly came home with his reputation enhanced – and with a ringing endorsement from one of the icons of the New York game.

Devlin produced an outstanding performance at the World Wallball Championships, defeating highly-rated New Yorker Chris Show before eventually bowing out against Gio Vasquez.

And it was Vasquez’s assessment afterwards which perhaps best illustrated the impression the 25-year-old handballer made.

“Let me tip my hat to him. I would have to say Ben is great, the young lad is strong, he's tough, he's got two good hands,” Vasquez said.

“He's very deceptive, whips off the air to both corners with his right.

“One of my favourite shots of his is when he whips it out of the air and kills it in the right corner. People in New York don't even go for shots like that – I don't even go for shots like that.

“The kid is amazing. Watch out for that guy, he's definitely someone to look out for. He's a great competitor, very humble and respectful, it was an honour to play against him.”

That is high praise given the source. Vasquez has been one of the best-known figures in New York handball for years and showed that he remains capable of competing with the very best when he subsequently pushed eventual champion Timbo Gonzalez to a tiebreaker in their semi-final.

Devlin had already announced himself with an excellent victory over Show, one of the seeded players in the draw and an A-category player in a city where the depth of handball talent is enormous.

Devlin, who transferred to Kingscourt from his native Louth last year, edged an absorbing opening game 15-13 before Show hit back emphatically to take the second 15-2.

That sent the contest to an 11-point tiebreaker and Devlin held his nerve, coming through 11-9 to record one of the most impressive Irish win at what was, juveniles aside, a chastening tournament for the GAA Handball players.

Vasquez proved a step too far in the next round, winning 15-9, 15-6, but his comments afterwards showed just how highly he rated Devlin's performance.

Devlin was also involved in the Open Doubles alongside fellow Bawn man Gavin Coyle. The pair produced a competitive showing against Josef Gotsch and David Schiller before losing 15-12, 15-9.

Coyle also competed in the Open Singles, where he was beaten 15-3, 15-11 by New York's Richard Montanez.

It was a memorable week, too, for Monaghan Harps player Eoghan McGinnity.

McGinnity suffered a narrow defeat in his opening match in the B Singles, going down 11-7 in a tiebreaker against Richard Moldanado, but bounced back strongly in the Small Ball A Singles.

There, the Monaghan man battled his way through to the final before meeting well-known American player Vlad Klym. McGinnity pushed Klym all the way before eventually losing 11-4 in the tiebreaker.

Corduff's Carol McKeown also performed strongly in New York, finishing third in the Women's C Singles, while Tydavnet's Paul Cassidy reached the semi-final of the Over-60 grade.

Cassidy's run was eventually ended by the New York player who went on to take the world title.