A medal and a podium position at this year’s edition of the Commonwealth Games continues to elude Team Malta as 61kg category wrestler Adam Vella was beaten in a bout to decide third place by Scotland’s Viorel Etko at the SECC Hall, Glasgow, yesterday.

It was the third time in less than a week that Malta had gone so close in breaking its duck in the medals table following similar situations experienced by double trap shooter Nathan Lee Xuereb, on Sunday, and David Galea, also of wrestling, on Tuesday.

Yesterday, Vella lost his opening bout to Canada’s David Tremblay, the eventual gold medalist, but showed better qualities when facing Arnaud Essindi Sengui, of Cameroon, in a repechage which the Maltese competitor won 5-0, the victory coming by a fall.

Moldova-born Etko, 36, was looking to give his adopted country something to cheer about following defeat to Tremblay in the quarter-finals.

And he went on to claim the bronze at the expense of Vella after winning the decider 4-1.

The performances of Galea and Vella in Glasgow will give the Maltese wrestling federation more confidence and added motivation for the challenges ahead.

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