Melbourne, Aus, WPH Press, 11/10/16- The third weekend of October saw Martin Mulkerrins add to his impressive 2016 1-Wall resume by claiming the 2016 Australian One-Wall Handball Championships. The current All Ireland 1WallBall Champion, Mulkerrins made the trip to Melbourne from his research position in New Zealand to face the best in Australia at the annual One-Wall Championships.
Mulkerrins entered the Australian One-Wall Handball Championship in Melbourne as the number two seed and faced a difficult road to the final. The current All Ireland 1-Wall champion had little trouble with Victoria’s Ben Gill in the round of 16 to setup a clash with one of Australia’s top players, Dylan King. A converted Aussie 3-Waller, King has adapted to the 1-Wall game and posed a stern test for the young Irishman. The pair split the first two games, with both demonstrating tremendous athleticism and shot making. Mulkerrins used to his experience to edge King in the tiebreaker, 11-6. “The game with Dylan helped me a lot,” Mulkerrins would later say. “He is very good and he played a great match.”
Next up for Mulkerrins was third-seeded countryman, now living in Melbourne, Ruairi Kelly. The pair battled in game one, with neither able to gain the upper hand in the nearly one-hour first frame. Ultimately, it was Mulkerrins who edged the Melbourne man, 21-20. Mulkerrins seized the momentum from the first-game win to cruise in the second. “Ruairi is a really good player and the match could have gone either way,” stated Mulkerrins.
Mulkerrins had little difficulty in the final, defeating defending champion Eesa Dotsenko in two games.
“It was great to visit Australia and play some handball,” declared Mulkerrins. “The handball community there were very helpful and without them it would not have been possible to travel.”
For full results from the 2016 Australian One-Wall Handball Championships, click here
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David Fink
WPH Senior Writer