William Chetcuti was unable to break his Olympic Games jinx yesterday as he failed to make the barrage final for a third successive time following the Double Trap shoot at the Royal Artillery Barracks in London.

Chetcuti, 27, was bidding to enhance his reputation as the country’s best Olympian by making the top six for the first time after the agonising exits of Athens and Beijing where he was ousted after shoot-offs.

Yesterday, Chetcuti finished ninth on 135 points. He fell just two clays short of sixth place and was left to rue his poor first-round performance where he only managed a 43, a low-scoring feat by his own standards.

In the build-up to the Games, Chetcuti shrugged aside any talk of pressure as he continued with his work-outs with long-time coach Jimmy Bugeja and physical trainer Jesmond Zammit.

However, tension must have crept inside his body in London as for the first time in many years Chetcuti failed to smoke the opening clays in three successive rounds.

“That thing never happened to me before,” a visibly distraught Chetcuti told Malta television at the end of the qualifying round.

“Something must have happened but I still think I gave my all. Pity, I’ve been training seriously for this competition for several months.

“I wanted to make the final so badly here not only for my personal achievements but also for the people in my country.

“I know they were behind me and gave me their support and I want to thank them all from the bottom of my heart.”

After the rather dismal first round, Chetcuti got back into contention with a solid 47 as no other shooter in competition, except for Britain’s Peter Wilson, had succeeded in imposing any kind of supremacy at that juncture.

But, as happened in the first two rounds, Chetcuti missed his opening pair in his third set of 50 and that significantly derailed his chances of a late push for a place in the barrage.

In the end, he managed a plucky 45 in bad weather but that was not enough for him to at least improve on the eighth placing he had obtained in China four years ago.

“Luck plays a key role in this sport but I can’t dwell on that only,” Chetcuti said.

“This was not my day. I can’t think of anything else at the moment. This was a four-year project and I gave everything to make my country proud but it was not to be and it’s hard to fathom.”

Coach Bugeja reckoned it was difficult for Chetcuti to recover from his low first-round score.

“William’s 43 jeopardised his chances of qualifying,” Bugeja said.

“That score piled the pressure on the lad. He tried hard but in the end it was too much for him.”

Bugeja has already set sights on his shooter’s next assignment.

“On our return home we’ll analyse this result and then focus on the build-up phase for the World Cup finals in Slovenia next month,” he said.

“Nathan Lee Xuereb will be taking part as well. The World Cup is another big event so we’ll do well to forget about this result quickly and start thinking about our next competition.”

Meanwhile, the constant drizzle made it more difficult for shooters to maintain composure yesterday.

Some never got going and that included 2008 gold medallist Walton Eller, of the United States. He finished 22nd from an entry of 23 competitors, with a modest 126.

And a notable absence in the barrage was Joshua Richmond (US). The world no.1 seed placed 16th on 131 points.

Other contenders who failed to leave their mark were China’s Jun Li (10th, 134), Ronjan Sodhi, of India (11th, 134) and Italian Daniele Di Spigno (18th, 131).

Maltese girls in action today at pool and track

Two other Team Malta members in the London Olympics will be in action today when swimming competitions resume at the Aquatic Centre and track and field events make their first showing at the Olympic Stadium.

At the pool, Nicola Muscat will be involved in the 50m freestyle Heat Five looking to improve on her record of 26.87 seconds.

Diane Borg will figure in the 100m sprints on the track. Like Muscat, her priority will be to establish a new national record for the 100m which she currently holds at 11.89secs.

William Chetcuti missed out on a place in the Double Trap final in London. Photo: Paul Zammit Cutajar