Team Malta made a strong start at the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF), with encouraging performances from flag bearers Thea Parnis Coleiro (Athletics) and Jeremy Gatt (Badminton) on the opening day of competition.
In the athletics arena, Thea Parnis Coleiro impressed in the womenโs 100m heats, clocking 12.06 seconds to secure her place in the semi-finals. Later that evening, she delivered an even stronger performance, improving her time to 11.91. Despite the personal best, it wasnโt enough to advance to the final round โ but her steady progression highlighted her growing potential on the international stage.
Meanwhile on the badminton court, Jeremy Gatt faced a tough line-up in Group 3 of the Group Play Stage. He opened with a hard-fought victory over Slovakiaโs Samuel Fodor, bouncing back from a narrow first-set loss (22-24) to take the next two sets 21-17, 21-17. Later in the day, Gatt came up against Denmarkโs Maxi Kaufmann โ a formidable opponent with an unbeaten record. Despite Gattโs spirited effort, the Dane emerged victorious in straight sets (21-13, 21-10), placing Gatt third in the group standings after Day 1.
Jeremy Gatt will return to action on Tuesday, 22nd July, with two more group stage matches: first against Deeptanshu Toka (Norway) at 13:00, followed by Zisis Pegios (Greece) at 17:00.
Fans can follow the action live at https://eoctv.org/live.
Sports Editor
Veteran Journalist
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