A team of four Maltese bowlers are currently in Bologna, competing in the 19th Mediterranean Bowling Championships, being hosted at the Reno Bowling Centre.

Team Malta comprises Sue Abela, Tiziana Carannante, Justin Caruana Scicluna and Neil Sullivan.

Competition kicked off yesterday with the ladies’ singles competition.

Thirteen nations from the Mediterranean region are competing in the championships, meaning there was a field of 26 players participating over six games on a scratch basis in the women’s singles.

Carannante got off to a good start, opening with a 236 and then a 184. Abela’s decent 191 in game one was followed by a low 155 in the second.

However, Abela then managed to draw on her wealth of experience in the international arena to get back in contention.

She powered on with a high-scoring flurry of three games (214-258-235), finishing with a low 162 but she had done enough to secure second place with a total score of 1,215 pins.

Abela missed out on first place and a gold medal by just 35 pins, as the top position was claimed by Israeli bowler, Lynne Fishler, on 1,250.

Carannante played consistently through the remainder of her set, but was unable to achieve the 200+ scores required to earn her a medal placing. She finished on 1,187 pins from her six games, a good effort that earned her sixth place.

Competition continues today until Saturday with two different doubles events, the team event and then the thrilling Masters Finals on Saturday.