Chetcuti sixth in Russia shoot

William Chetcuti yesterday showed that his talent is undiminished as he reached the barrage of the prestigious ISSF European Championships which are being held at the Kazan Complex, Tatarstan, Russia.

Chetcuti had failed to figure prominently on the international scene this season but showed remarkable improvement yesterday when he qualified sixth for the final after scores of 45, 47 and 47 (139). In the barrage, he smashed 44 to remain sixth with an overall score of 183.

The competition was won by Francesco D'Aniello.

The Italian hit 49 points in the final to add to the 143 he had accumulated in the previous three rounds for an overall 192.

Britain's Peter Wilson was second on 187 and Hakan Dahlby, of Sweden, third after winning a shoot-off with Vasin Mosin, of Russia.

Both shooters had 187 points, one ahead of the other home competitor in the final, Vitaly Fokev.

The result should serve as a timely morale-booster for Chetcuti and his coach Jimmy Bugeja ahead of their next overseas assignment - the World Championships in Munich, this month.