Malta’s athletes continued their campaign at the Mediterranean Games on Sunday, with competitors taking part in taekwondo, bocce, shooting and wrestling.
It was a day of mixed fortunes for Team Malta, featuring hard-fought contests against experienced international opponents, a narrow near miss in the shooting competition and valuable experience for some of Malta’s younger athletes competing on the senior international stage.
Cassar gains valuable experience in taekwondo
Seventeen-year-old Alycia Cassar represented Malta in the women’s -67kg taekwondo competition, where she came up against Croatia’s highly experienced Ivana Arelic.
Cassar faced a difficult challenge against an established senior international competitor, with Arelic having won gold at the 2025 European Club Championships and the 2025 Croatia Open, in addition to securing several other international podium finishes.
The Croatian won the contest in two rounds, but the encounter provided valuable experience for Cassar as she continues her transition to the senior international stage.
Farrugia faces world-class opposition in bocce
In the morning session, Stefan Farrugia took on former world champion and world record holder in raffa precision shooting Aurélien Corbihan of France.
Corbihan dominated the supplementary phase, winning five of the seven ends and never conceding more than two points in a single end. Farrugia showed resilience, winning the second end and recording his best score of two points in the sixth, but was unable to maintain the pressure against his experienced opponent.
A decisive spell between the third and fifth ends saw Corbihan score six unanswered points to effectively seal the contest.
Later in the day, Farrugia faced reigning world champion Jacopo Frisoni of San Marino. The Maltese athlete drew first blood in the opening supplementary end, but Frisoni responded strongly, winning the next three consecutive ends without conceding a point and scoring five unanswered points to secure victory.
Farrugia will return to action on Monday in the men’s singles play-offs, where he will face Algeria’s Houssam Eddine Hamel.
Cassar narrowly misses shooting final
The morning session saw the final two qualifying rounds of the shooting competition, with Malta’s André Cassar and Liam Sciberras each shooting 50 targets.
Cassar came agonisingly close to securing a place in the final, finishing ninth with a total score of 116. He was level with Turkey’s Mustafa Sahin and France’s Casper Maine in the battle for the final qualifying place but was eliminated following a shoot-off.
The result meant Cassar missed out on a place in the final by the narrowest of margins.
Compatriot Liam Sciberras also produced a solid performance, finishing in 12th place with a score of 113.
Zarb’s wrestling campaign comes to an end
In wrestling, Nico Zarb faced a strong Spanish opponent, with the contest ending 10-0 on technical superiority.
The Spanish wrestler later narrowly missed out on progressing from the semi-finals, meaning Zarb was not given the opportunity to continue his campaign through the repechage.
Malta athletes back in action on Monday
Malta’s campaign continues on Monday, with the cycling team returning to the road for the road race. Aidan Buttigieg, Bernard Galea and Andrea Mifsud will all compete on the Valle d’Itria Circuit.
In badminton, Sam Cassar will compete in the men’s singles, while Martina Clark takes on Grammatoula Sotiliu of Greece and Francesca Clark faces Gianna Stiglich Guzman of Italy in the women’s singles.
Meanwhile, Stefan Farrugia will continue his bocce raffa campaign with his men’s singles play-off against Algeria’s Houssam Eddine Hamel.
Sports Editor
Veteran Journalist
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