Brady on course for record 11th US Nationals crown

Paul Fitzpatrick

Five-time world handball champion Paul Brady remains in the hunt at the 69th US Nationals in Los Angeles.

The Mullahoran man is aiming to tie the record with 11 Open Singles wins in this prestigious event. He last won the title in 2015 but lost the finals in 2016 and 2017 to Boston-based Corkman Killian Carroll.

Last year, the Nationals doubled up with the World Championships and Brady was forced to withdraw with injury before the semi-final. However, the 39-year-old has trained extremely well for this year's renewal as he seeks that elusive 11th crown.

Brady returned to competitive action with a win in the New York pro stop in March and while he was subsequently beaten by Sean Lenning in Salt Lake City, he travelled with confidence this week.

'The Gunner' opened with a commanding 21-3, 21-6 win over Justin Bauer of Colorado before dismantling Californian Braulio Ruiz (21-12, 21-6) and Mexican Luis Cordova (21-19, 21-8) in last night's quarter-final.

The Virginia-based father-of-one, a schoolteacher in St Felim's in Cavan Town, will take on left-hander David Fink, who surprisingly walloped Lenning in the other quarter-final, in this evening's semi-final (8pm Irish time).

Meanwhile, Carroll is the number one seed in the top half of the draw and meets Galway's former All-Ireland senior champion Martin Mulkerrins in the other semi.

To watch a live stream of the matches, click on the player below.