William Chetcuti's Rio 2016 is over after a poor showing in the men's double trap event saw him place 17th and miss out on a semifinal slot for a fourth straight Olympic Games. 

Chetcuti placed 17th out of 22 shooters after hitting 22, 25, 24, 26 and 26 disks in each round for a final score of 123. 

Despite high hopes which were matched by bookies predictions - many placed him as the favourite to win bronze - the Maltese shooter struggled to recover from a terrible first round. 

Having set himself a target of reaching the semifinals, he had voiced hope that preparatory work to bolster his mental strength would pay off, but it was not to be. 

Chetcuti is one of Malta's most decorated sportsmen, having won awards at World Cups, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Mediterranean Games and the Games of the Small States of Europe.

But the expert shooter has struggled to make an impact on the Olympic stage. 

In Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, he narrowly missed out on a place among the finalists, while in London 2012 he was just two clay disks away from making it to the top six and moving into the final round. 

The top six shooters will now progress to a semifinal round, which will then be followed by two final matches, one to determine the gold and silver medalists, and the other for bronze. 

They are Andreas Loew of Germany (140), James Willett of Australia (140), Tim Kneale of Great Britain (139), Steven Scott of Great Britain (138), Mario Innocenti of Italy (136) and Fehaid Aldeehani representing the Independent Olympic Athletes (135).