David Farrugia and Stefan Farrugia came close to pulling off a major upset against Italy’s world cham-pions Pasquale D’Alterio and Diego Paleari in the final of the Raffa Doubles competition at the Mediterranean Games in Mersin yesterday.
But the Italian pair held on to their slim advantage to secure a narrow 12-9 victory as the brave Maltese pair were forced to settle for a silver medal.
This was Malta’s second medal in the Turkish city this week after Double Trap shooter William Chetcuti grabbed the country’s first gold in the Mediterranean Games on Wednesday.
The Farrugias were the under-dogs going into yesterday’s final as they were up against the world’s best pairing in Raffa.
The Maltese duo were aware of the strength of the Italian bowlers after suffering a 12-1 defeat in their final group match on Wednesday.
However, yesterday’s match was a completely different story as the Maltese produced a strong chal-lenge with the outcome of the match undecided until the final ball.
D’Alterio and Paleari looked on their way to another comfortable victory when they raced into an 8-3 lead.
Excellent combined play by the Maltese pair yielded four success-ive points to bridge the gap to 8-7.
D’Alterio and Paleari regained the initiative to put themselves within sight of victory at 11-7.
The Maltese refused to give in and managed to narrow the deficit to 11-9.
But the Italians soon ended any thoughts of a late fightback as they obtained the decisive point to wrap up a 12-9 win and secure the gold medal.
“I think we should be proud of our achievement today,” David Farrugia told The Times of Malta.
“We were up against the world’s best team who have dominated our sport for many years. Nobody gave us a chance of winning but we gave them a good run for their money... it was not to be.
“On a personal level, this is my second medal at the Mediter-ranean Games after winning bronze in the 1997 Bari edition. But, no doubt, this has added value as I managed to win it despite the lack of training facilities in Malta.
“I hope this result will push the authorities to reopen the Bocciodrome at the Cottonera Sports Complex.”
On his part, Italy-based Stefan Farrugia said that he will now turn his focus to the singles competition where he is hopeful of challenging for a place on the podium.
“This result is a great injection of confidence for me,” Stefan Farrugia, a gold medallist for Malta in the 2001 San Marino GSSE, said.
“This is the first time I’ve won a medal in these Games and I’m really looking forward to the singles competition which starts tomorrow.
“Competition will be very tough but I thrive on these kind of challenges and hopefully I can progress to the final stages of the competition.”
The silver medal won by Stefan Farrugia and David Farrugia yesterday ensured that Team Malta will return home with its best ever result in a Mediterranean Games since the country’s first participation in the quadriennial sports festival way back in 1951.