Noel O’Callaghan lifts European Raquetball Championship title
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Fermoy man Noel O'Callaghan figured, as he was turning 40 this year, he'd take one last shot at the European Racquetball Championships mens open singles title, having been beaten in the final in 2007 by Spaniard Victor Montserrat.
He's glad he did, having dispatched members of the German national team all the way up through the finals in Italy at the weekend to defeat Germany's number one title holder Trevor Neyer by a decisive 2-0, beating him in the first by 15-3 and 15-11 in the second to take the title.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet" Noel, from Barry's Court, Fermoy, told The Avondhu as he celebrated with his wife Bernadette, parents John and Mary, and other family, friends and club members at a lively homecoming celebration in the Wagon Tavern on Monday night.
The championships are held every second year. It's been 34 years since an Irish competitor won and it was the country's 17th attempt at the title.
"His achievement is nothing short of unbelievable," Noel's proud father-in-law, John Comerford said on Monday night. "The euphoria we felt as part of the Irish group when he won was brilliant. He was superbly fit, the amount of training he did was unbelievable. You reap what you sow," John added.
Noel, who's a member of Fermoy Racquetball Club, concedes he did put in "a lot of hard training" over the past four months.
John was in Italy to see his son-in-law win, as he was competing himself. He and his partner, Wexford man Pat Cleary just missed another title win, losing the doubles final by 1-8.
While Noel thought he was competing for the last time in Italy at the weekend, he now says he might just be tempted to vie to retain the title in two years time. It's understood plans are afoot to try to get those championships to Wexford.
The Mayor of Fermoy, Olive Corcoran and local councillors Noel McCarthy, Frank O'Flynn and Kevin O'Keefe turned up at the Wagon Tavern on Monday night to congratulate Noel on his achievement, saying he had done Fermoy, his county and country proud.
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