Vintage Chetcuti strikes gold

William Chetcuti produced a remarkable comeback yesterday to win the GSSE Double Trap title at the Malta Shooting Federation's ranges up north. The 'Bidnija Wizard' hit 179 clays, one ahead of Maurizio Zonzini of San Marino.

Emanuel Grima crowned a fine day for the shooting fraternity when he occupied the other place on the podium, hitting 171 clays to collect an unexpected bronze medal.

Initially, things were looking rather bleak for the 18-year-old Chetcuti ahead of the final barrage. He was trailing Zonzini by three clays as the San Marino shooter managed 137 points from a maximum 150. Grima was in third place with 130 - eight clear of his nearest rival Armand Dousemont of Luxembourg.

The barrage then turned out to be a tense affair with all six finalists betraying signs of nervousness. Shooting in familiar surroundings, Chetcuti, quite surprisingly, seemed overwhelmed by the occasion. After the first six turns, he fell five clays behind Zonzini.

However, the 2002 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist soon regained composure and started to cancel his deficit with Zonzini who, quite evidently, could not keep up with the stunning pace of the Maltese youngster.

The San Marino shooter missed both clays with four rounds to go, handing a one-point advantage to Chetcuti who managed to maintain his stance till the end amidst the celebrations of the numerous spectators present.

"I always dreamt of winning a gold medal in the Small Nations Games and to achieve it in front of my home fans is unbelievable," Chetcuti said.

"I never imagined that so many people would come here to give me their support. Their backing was decisive for me to claim this success.

"This is not the first medal for me in international tournaments but the GSSE gold will always have a special place in my heart.

"I've been working hard to achieve this success which was only possible thanks to the assistance received from the MOC, the federation and my family."

Grima's bronze medal was another remarkable achievement as the Maltese shooter was only making his first appearance in the Games.

He said: "I've been preparing for this competition for the past six months and I always believed that if I made the Malta team, I could fight for a place on the podium. I am really delighted with my performance and would like to dedicate this medal to my family for their constant support," he said.

Chetcuti's feat yesterday was the second Double Trap GSSE gold medal for Malta.

In 2001, it was Philip Busuttil who won the competition in front of Chetcuti. Shooting federation president Saviour Portelli said this result was another confirmation of the efficient work carried out by his committee.

"I was always confident that this Malta squad could emulate the result we achieved in San Marino when we won three medals - one gold and two silver. We are already there even though this time we took a bronze medal instead of silver in Double Trap," Portelli said.

"We have a bright future but now we will seek to convince the authorities to implement legislation allowing U-16s to practise this sport under supervision. There is a lot of promising talent around. We must do our best to turn them into champions."

Opening round in Skeet

Paul Vella and Silvio Attard had a satisfactory opening in the first 75 clays from the Skeet competition, also held yesterday.

Vella is currently joint third with two other shooters on 69 clays. They are trailing leader Antonis Nicolaides, of Cyprus, by four clays and one behind provisional runner-up Arnason Hilmar of Iceland. Attard is sixth with 66 clays.

The Skeet competition continues today with another round of 50 clays before the barrage final.