Poor results in Gozo

The first day of the table tennis competitions at the Gozo Sports Complex produced a great disappointment for the Maltese as the men's team was eliminated and is therefore out of the reckoning for a medal while the ladies' side lost its opening two matches.

The four that qualified for the men's team competition semi-finals were Cyprus and San Marino, from Group A, and Iceland and Luxembourg, from Group B.

Malta had an excellent start with a fine 3-0 victory over Andorra. The afternoon match against Luxembourg was a crucial one though. Simon Gerada took off with a good 3-1 win over Simon Fabien, but his brother Wayne was beaten by Trjan Ciocu 3-0.

The doubles was probably the most exciting clash of the afternoon. It ended in a 3-2 victory for Luxembourg. The Geradas were 0-2 down at one point but recovered to force a tie-break. The decisive set was tight, eventually going to Luxembourg who went on to win the match 3-1.

Malta's hopes of reaching the semi-finals were slim before the match against Iceland. Simon Gerada gave the team a headstart but Wayne lost 0-3 against no.1 Stephenson.

The pressure was evident in the doubles match. Malta had a 2-0 lead but lost concentration as Stephenson and Aranson held composure to win it after a tie-break.

Malta's hopes were lost with that doubles upset. Iceland won the match 3-2 to finish as group winners. Today, they meet San Marino in the semi-finals. Cyprus, who won Group A, take on Group B runners-up Luxembourg.

Women's team no match for Luxembourg, San Marino

Meanwhile, the opening matches from the women's team competition round robin got underway at the same venue in Victoria yesterday.

Malta, were beaten twice with an identical 0-3 scoreline, first against Luxembourg and then to San Marino.

Johanna Grech and Christine Torreggiani played for Malta.