Maltese judokas have always figured prominently in the GSSE. Apart from the first Games in San Marino, way back in 1985, Malta has always managed to win a medal in this discipline. In Monaco, Team Malta will have a new-look judo line-up but Spanish coach Carlos Carbonell tells he is still confident his squad of relative newcomers will fight for podium places.

For many years, judo has been one of the pillars of Malta's success in GSSE. In the past 11 editions of the Games, this particular sport yielded the country a staggering total of 48 medals - nine gold, 17 silver and 22 bronze.

Two years ago in Andorra, the Maltese judokas returned home with five medals - one gold, one silver and three bronze. Since then the team went through a transitional period with some seasoned members making way for a new crop of youngsters.

In fact, from the team that competed in Andorra, only Marcon Bezzina and Yvgeny Ulanov have earned selection for Monaco.

There has also been a change in the technical sector with Spanish coach Carlos Carbonell engaged by the Malta Judo Federation to take charge of the team's preparation.

Carbonell has only been guiding the team since January but declared himself pleased with the progress of his judokas.

"I only started working with the federation a few months ago but in the short time I have been here, I must say I am quite pleased with the progress we've made," Carbonell told The Times.

"Perhaps, the one major problem I had to deal with was a lack of consistent training by the squad. But, once we worked on a new schedule, I was pleased to see that they were training hard to make up for the lost time. The results of our first scientific tests showed that the condition of the judokas has improved steadily."

The coach said it is difficult to say how far the Maltese can go in Monaco as most of the team members will be competing in different categories to those normally accustomed to.

"Since GSSE rules state that every country can field only one athlete in each category, we were forced to pit some of our judokas against heavier opponents," Carbonell said.

"Yvgeny Ulanov and Joanne Camilleri are the only ones who will be fighting in their proper weight class. Brent Law, Chris Law and Jerome Zammit normally figure in U-60kgs but since Brent is our top-ranked judoka in this bracket, we switched the other two to higher categories.

"Obviously, it will be more difficult for Jerome and Chris. However, we believe that these Games will be a useful exercise in their learning curve and I'm confident they can achieve satisfactory results."

Bezzina, Malta's sole gold medallist in judo competition in Andorra after winning the -57kg category, is also in for a change.

"Lately, Marcon has attended several training camps abroad," the Malta coach said.

"For the past three weeks, she has trained at Bath University in England where her progress was being monitored by high-profile German coach Jurgen Klinger who has coached several world champions before.

"That intensive training has led Bezzina to an increase in weight. Therefore, it is inevitable that she should now compete in the -63 kg category.

"I am in regular contact with Klinger and, from the data he has given me, it seems that Marcon is in top shape. We expect her to challenge for at least a place on the podium in Monaco."

Carbonell's contract with the Maltese federation expires in July but the Spaniard wants to continue if the conditions are right.

"I think it is of utmost importance that we continue the work we started to give Maltese judokas that continuity which was missing before as a result of changes in the technical sector," Carbonell stressed.

"If we want to maintain progress in this sport our athletes must train throughout the whole year according to a well-planned programme and with the co-operation of all clubs.

"My vision for the future is that all coaches in Malta should contribute towards the setting up of a structure aimed at grooming more youngsters and give them special attention in every area. There is great potential here and if everyone pulls in the same direction, the future of Maltese judo is indeed bright."

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.