It was an eventful day at the oneills.com World Wallball Championships as Irish number one Catriona Casey crashed out of the tournament on an injury default.
Cork's Casey, 30, currently holds every major singles title in Ireland and has been dominant internationally.
She opened the event with a comfortable win over USA’s Nancy Dong but, with her quarter-final against Armagh’s Caoliosa Ní Dhúill finely poised, Casey went down with what looked a serious knee injury.
After taking a 15-minute injury time-out, Casey returned to the court but was forced to concede after a single rally and exited the arena in some distress.
"Catriona went down injured and was immediately treated by the medics," said Team Ireland coach Dan McVicker.
"She tried to continue but unfortunately was unable to do so. It’s bitterly disappointing obviously, our heart goes out to Catriona who is the ladies captain of our team."
Elsewhere in the Ladies Open, there were wins for Martina McMahon (Limerick) and Eilise McCrory (Tyrone), while former Roscommon footballer Fiona Tully came through in a tiebreaker against Westmeath’s Aoife McCarthy.
"In the tiebreaker, I got a little bit of momentum going and I said, 'I’m not going to leave this behind’," Tully reflected afterwards.
Meanwhile, there were no major upsets in the Men’s Open as the big guns advanced.
Irish number one Conor McElduff was in fine form as he despatched American Vlad Klym in straight games.
Having seen off Palestinian Mohamad Mansi in his opening match, the Tyrone ace came through with the minimum of fuss to advance to the last four.
New Yorker Tywan Cook, who survived a scare against Sligoman Cormac Finn in the round of 16, was back to his brilliant best in defeating Julio Carlos (21-16, 21-12) while Timbo Gonzalez, another of the leading Americans, used his power to great effect as he saw off the Basque Lur Ziarrusta (21-11, 21-16).
"There is some pressure but it’s something that I look forward to," said Gonzalez. "I like to look pressure right in the eyes and get out there and accomplish my goals."
Arguably the most impressive performer of the day was another New Yorker Nazir Marston, who turned in a sensational display to oust England’s Luke Thomson (21-20, 21-9) and mark himself out as a live contender.
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