Daniel Kavanagh wins 1-Wall 'B' singles title at Belgium Open

Written by Antoin Ó Braoin, Rúnaí Contae
Daniel Kavanagh from St. Josephs Handball Club in Wexford town made a little history last weekend when he travelled across Europe for the Belgium Open 1-Wall tournament and came away with both the ‘B’ singles and Open Plate winners trophies. Daniel who will be 16 on Christmas Eve enjoyed a remarkable run in both competitions before beating Devon Cassert, Belgium in the ‘B’ decider and then De Coretin, France in the Open Plate competition final.

Daniel Kavanagh with his Belgium Open winners trophy
Daniel Kavanagh with his ‘B’ singles winners trophy at the Belgium Open

Daniel and his father Stephen had joined 147 players from America, Belgium, Canada, England, France and Spain for the event which was staged at the Killshot 1-wall club in La Marcotte, two hours from the capital city of Brussels and after a marathon two days of action during which Daniel played a total of 23 games, he came away well pleased with the outcome.
Wall Ball is a relatively code of handball now spreading around the world and with the new World Wall Association working hard to make this the global game that unites the sport, we are certain to see many more Irish players make trips to European locations in preference to the USA.
Daniel took part in four events at La Marcotte, including the the ‘A’ doubles with dad Stephen but after a good run in that event they exited at the semi final stage. All in all it was a remarkable achievement for a 15 year old and it augurs well for the future of this very promising player.
Now however its back to the domestic scene and the more traditional Irish style four wall county and national championships where greater challenges await.