Sports digest

A roundup of today's other sports news in brief:

Brady reaches decider again

HANDBALL: Paul Brady is now just one game away from successfully defending his Men's Open title at the World Handball Championships.

The Cavan man beat top American Emmett Peixoto, 21-13, 21-4, last night in Portland, Oregon and later today will face the winner of the semi-final between Texan Allan Garner and Luis Moreno of Arizona.

Victory tonight could set up Duddy for major pay day

BOXING: Irish middleweight John Duddy has returned to his former coach and trainer Harry Keitt in a bid to reignite his career and record his eighth win on the trot at Madison Square Garden tonight.

The Derry Destroyer meets Mexican puncher Michi “El Matador” Munoz in New York knowing that a convincing win could set him up for a big pay day versus Julio Cesar Chavez junior.

Bob Arum and Top Rank, who are promoting this evening’s MSG show, are understood to be eager to pit Chavez and Duddy together early in 2010 in New York – provided both fighters keep winning.

Meanwhile, Duddy and Munoz are scheduled to trade leather over 10 rounds on tonight’s double World title bill featuring Juan Manuel Lopez versus Rogers Mtagwa and Yuriorkis Gamboa versus Whyber Garcia.

Sothern hits four for Pembroke

HOCKEY: Pembroke Wanderers became the first Irish side to win a EuroHockey League game as Alan Sothern struck four times in the 4-2 victory over Scottish champions Kelburne in Barcelona last night.

It puts the Ballsbridge club in pole-position in Pool H and on the verge of qualifying for the last 16.

Sothern’s first was the quickest goal in the competition’s three-year history, firing home a reverse on seven seconds.

The win means Pembroke can qualify without touching a ball today as Kelburne need to beat Rotterdam – one of the tournament favourites – to have any chance of progressing.

In Pool G, Glenanne, however, have it all to do. They lost to 2008 champions UHC Hamburg 4-1 in their first appearance at this level.

For the Glens, today’s tie with Poland’s Grunwald Poznan was always going to be make or break and, should they win, they will probably progress.

Another doubles title for O'Brien

TENNIS: Ireland's Colin O'Brien yesterday claimed his fourth ITF Futures doubles title this year, in the hard-court event on the Greek island of Paros.

The Dublin left-hander and Switzerland’s Mathieu Guenat, the number one seeds, defeated Greek duo Paris Gemouchidis and Manolis Glezos 6-7 (1/7) 6-3 10-3 (champions’ tie-break) in the final.

Meanwhile, world number two Rafa Nadal stopped Marat Safins Beijing revival in its tracks yesterday with a 6-3 6-1 victory to reach the semi-finals of the China Open.

Nadal dominated a brief but richly entertaining tie against fellow former world number one Safin, who is retiring at the end of the season.

Elena Dementieva earlier joined the exodus of top women’s seeds when she was upset 7-5 6-3 by Polands Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarter-finals of the WTA’s new “crown jewel” tournament.

Higgins maintains strong form

SNOOKER: Defending champion John Higgins completed a 5-1 hammering of Mark Allen to reach the Grand Prix semi-finals in Glasgow.

A 66 break in the opening frame suggested the “Wizard of Wishaw” was in the same imperious form that accounted for Ronnie O’Sullivan in the previous round, and he clinched the second in two visits before a 72 break saw him open up a 3-0 lead.

Allen battled back, clearing the colours to take frame four and knocking in a break of 73 in the next – but a missed red off the rest let Higgins back in to snatch the frame.

And he won the last frame with a single visit of 96 to finish the match.

Australian Neil Robertson beat Joe Perry by the same scoreline.