The Maltese Olympic Committee (MOC) has selected a team of 27 athletes to represent the country at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this month.

This will be one of the largest contingents to represent the country at the quadriennial Games that will kick off next Wednesday with an opening ceremony at Celtic Park, the home of Scottish football giants Celtic.

Four years ago, the MOC had a squad of 22 for the Games which were staged in New Delhi, India.

This time around, Malta will be fielding competitors in nine different sport – athletics, gymnastics, shooting, judo, lawn bowls, squash, triathlon, weightlifting and wrestling.

The contingent will be leaving for Scotland on Tuesday, spearheaded by MOC president Julian Pace Bonello, chef-de-mission Mark Cutajar and general secretary Joe Cassar.

A quick look at the list of those selected shows some familiar names, the likes of double trap shooter William Chetcuti, two-time winner of a bronze medal at the Commonwealths.

Brad Hindle Deguara, Daniel Zammit Lewis and Colette Sultana, gold medal winners in the 2011 Liechtenstein GSSE, will lead the challenge in squash and there will be a debut in the Games for triathletes Danica Bonello Spiteri and Keith Galea, and weight-lifter Jessica Edge.

Mario Micallef, who is responsible for the technical preparation ahead of the Games, told The Sunday Times of Malta the MOC has refused to set any pre-set goals in Glasgow but emphasised that it was important for each member of the team to give their all and ac-hieve the best possible result.

“When talking about the Commonwealths you have to keep in mind that these Games are the second most prestigious after the Olympics,” Micallef, also the MOC Director of Sport, said.

“In Glasgow there will be some of the world’s best. In athletics alone there’s Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown. Mo Farah is also expected to make it in long distances. The level should be high.

“But we have to focus on our own team as we know most of them are in a position to achieve excellent results.

“In track and field, for instance, Kevin Moore and Rebecca Camilleri had some remarkable results this year. So, inevitably, we expect a lot from them.

“William Chetcuti is always a contender in shooting and the same goes for his double trap colleague Nathan Lee Xuereb who has just confirmed himself as the European junior champion.

“In lawn bowls, Carmen Spiteri is now ranked no.7 in the world so there is great potential there as well.

“We also have full confidence in the other members in the team as we know we have assembled a talented squad for Glasgow.”

Micallef sounded satisfied with the team’s preparations and hoped that Glasgow could act as a springboard for the 2015 GSSE in Iceland and the European Games in Azerbaijan, also next year.

“As a coach I always expect more from our athletes. All those selected in Team Malta have done everything they could to reach these Games in top shape,” Micallef said.

“I was particularly pleased with Rebecca Camilleri and Diane Borg. Both are coming from a difficult 2013 but have shown great resilience to rediscover their best form.

“No doubt, positive results in Glasgow would be a great incentive for Team Malta ahead of 2015 which will be another big year for us.

“The GSSE is a major appointment. We want to compete at those Games in Iceland with a very competitive team.

“Also, there are the inaugural European Games where we hope to reach our goals at this newly-launched event.”

Team Malta

Athletics: Kevin Moore, Diane Borg, Rebecca Camilleri, Rachel Fitz, Rebecca Sarè.

Gymnastics: Kirsty Caruana, Peppijna Dalli, Andreana Zammit.

Judo: Marcon Bezzina, Isaac Bezzina, Jeremy Saywell.

Lawn bowls: Carmen Spiteri, Leonard Callus, John Parnis.

Shooting: William Chetcuti, Nathan Lee Xuereb, Eleonor Bezzina, Brian Galea.

Squash: Brad Hindle Deguara, Daniel Zammit Lewis, Kim Borg Cauchi, Colette Sultana.

Triathlon: Danica Bonello Spiteri, Keith Galea.

Weightlifting: Jessica Edge.

Wrestling: Adam Vella, David Galea.

Malta’s medal winners at the Commonwealth Games

Malta’s first ever participation in the Commonwealth Games dates back to 1958 when the MOC fielded a contingent for the event in Cardiff, Wales. However, the country had to wait until 1990 to celebrate its first medal when judoka Laurie Pace took bronze in Auckland.

Since then Maltese representatives claimed three other medals at the Games with trap shooter Rebecca Madyson winning a silver in Melbourne 2002 and William Chetcuti returning home with back-to-back bronze medals in 2002 and 2006 in double trap.

Here is a short recap of Malta’s medal achievements in the Commonwealths compiled by Valhmor Camilleri.

Auckland 1990
Laurie Pace (judo) – bronze medal

• The 1990 Games in New Zealand will remain as one of the highlights in the history of Maltese sport after Laurie Pace succeeded in handing the country its first medal at this level when placing third in the -61kg category.

Pace booked her place in the semi-finals of the tournament after wins over Scotland’s Michelle McQuarrie and Pharma, of India.

In the semis, Pace was up against home favourite Donna Guy-Halkyard who proved too strong for the Maltese outsider and she progressed to the final with an ippon.

Still that was enough for Pace to share the bronze medal with Canada’s Mandy Clayton.

Manchester 2002
William Chetcuti (shooting, double trap) – bronze medal

• William Chetcuti lived up to his reputation as a young but very talented competitor in clay shooting when he placed third in the double trap competition in Manchester 2002.

Chetcuti had given an indication of his medal intent when hitting 46, 47 and 48 to qualify for the barrage in second place with a total score of 141.

He maintained his hot form in the final, hitting an impressive 48 from 50 clays to finish with an overall 189, just one point short of silver medallist Mark Russell.

The gold medal went to India’s Rajya-vardhan Singh who amassed 191.

Melbourne 2006
Rebecca Madyson (shooting, trap) – silver medal

• Trap shooter Rebecca Madyson achieved Malta’s best-ever result in the Commonwealths when she placed second in the 2006 Games staged at the country where she is based.

Despite being six months pregnant, Madyson showed great composure when hitting rounds of 23, 22 and 25 for a score of 70 from a possible 75 in qualifying.

Madyson could only manage 16 in the final to finish behind South Africa’s Diane Swanton who took gold on 92.

Canada’s Susan Nattrass was the bronze medallist after a shoot-off.

Melbourne 2006
William Chetcuti (shooting, double trap) – bronze medal

• William Chetcuti bagged his second successive bronze medal at the Games when he placed third in Melbourne 2006.

Chetcuti looked on course for the gold after finishing the qualifying round in second place on 139 clays... just two short of leader Stevan Walton, of England.

However, Chetcuti could only manage 40 from 50 in the final and ultimately he had to settle for third place on 179.

Rajyavardhan Singh retained the double trap gold when topping the leaderboard on 181, just one clear of South Africa’s Byron Swanton.