Team Malta’s fourth day of competition at the XX Mediterranean Games in Taranto brought a dominant victory on the tennis court, a strong opening performance in trap shooting and a quarter-final exit in badminton.
Cassar bows out in badminton quarter-finals
Maltese badminton player Samuel Cassar faced a difficult challenge against Italy’s Giovanni Toti in the men’s singles quarter-finals.
Despite a determined performance, Cassar was defeated in straight sets, with Toti winning 21-9, 21-10.
The Italian controlled the tempo from the opening stages with an aggressive approach, limiting Cassar’s opportunities to build momentum.
Although the defeat brought Cassar’s singles campaign to an end, his run to the quarter-finals marked another important international appearance for Malta against strong Mediterranean opposition.
Chetcutis make strong start in trap
Trap shooting got under way with Team Malta’s Gianluca Chetcuti and William Chetcuti both well placed after the opening 75 targets of qualification.
Gianluca Chetcuti sits provisionally in second place with a score of 73 out of 75, following rounds of 24, 24 and a perfect 25.
William Chetcuti is also firmly in contention after recording a score of 72 out of 75. He opened with two perfect rounds of 25 before scoring 22 in the third round, leaving him level with four other shooters.
Both Maltese competitors faced the most difficult conditions of the day during the final round, with strong sunshine and increasing wind adding to the challenge.
The competition features a strong field, including San Marino’s Gian Marco Berti, silver medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, as well as two-time Olympian Mauro De Filippis.
Qualification concludes on Wednesday morning with two further rounds of 25 targets, with the top eight shooters progressing to the final later in the afternoon.
Delicata dominates in tennis
Liam Delicata produced one of Malta’s most convincing performances of the day, cruising into the next round of the men’s singles with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Kosovo’s Jasin Jakupi at the newly built Magna Grecia Tennis Centre.
Delicata was in complete control from the opening game and did not drop a single game throughout the match.
He will now face Greece’s Ioannis Xilas in the next round.
Meanwhile, Alex De Gabriele’s singles campaign came to an end following a 6-0, 7-5 defeat to Tunisia’s Wissam Abderrahman.
The first set slipped away quickly as Abderrahman’s serve established control of the match. However, De Gabriele responded strongly in the second set, contesting every point and forcing his opponent into longer exchanges.
Despite serving five aces and producing a strong second-set performance, the Maltese player was unable to force the match into a deciding set, with Abderrahman eventually closing out the victory.
Action continues on Wednesday
Team Malta’s shooters return to the range on Wednesday morning, when Gianluca and William Chetcuti will complete the final two rounds of trap qualification as they bid to secure a place among the top eight and progress to the final.
In the afternoon, attention will turn back to the tennis courts, where Alex De Gabriele and Elaine Genovese will team up in the mixed doubles against Kosovo’s Florent Limani and Learta Muharremi.
Sports Editor
Veteran Journalist
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