William Chetcuti finished outside the top six positions in the Double Trap competition at an ISSF World Cup shoot, held yesterday in Changwon, South Korea.

Competing against some of the world's leading shooters, Chetcuti returned scores of 45, 47 and 43 in the qualifying round for a total of 135 points from 150.

Chetcuti, widely considered as Malta's brightest prospect for an Olympic medal, missed out on a place in the final barrage by three clays. He was one of five shooters who tied for ninth place after all hit 135 targets. Official ISSF results classified Chetcuti 12th overall.

The Bidnija prodigy, winner of a bronze medal at last year's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, is taking part in a series of World Cup shoots in a bid to obtain outright qualification for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Gold medal in yesterday's Double Trap event went to Walton Eller (United States). Top of the field with a total of 142 points in qualifying, Eller maintained his excellent performance in the barrage, smashing 45 clays to secure first place and a quota for the Olympic Games.

A tight duel for the silver medal saw Sweden's Hakan Dahlby edge Bill Keever, of the US, in a shoot-off after both garnered 184 hits.

Australia's Mark Russell , a two-time world champion and 1996 Olympic gold medallist, took fourth place with 183 points. Wang Nag, of China, and Russia's Vasily Mosin finished fifth and sixth respectively.