Rebecca Madyson came agonisingly close to winning a bronze medal in women's trap yesterday but finished on the losing end of a shoot-off for third place.

Australia-based Madyson, silver medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, went into the barrage one point ahead of fourth-placed Georgia Konstantinidou on 60 clays. The other Maltese shooter in the competition, Kathryn Cassar, had also completed the first three rounds on 59.

San Marino pair Daniela Del Din and Alessandra Perilli were the comfortable leaders of this competition. Del Din went on to win with 90 clays, two better off than her compatriot.

Madyson had a poor round in the barrage, only hitting 14 points to Konstantinidou's 15 for both to finish on 74. The Cypriot then showed nerves of steel to win the shoot-off on the second clay.

Cassar could only manage 11 points in the barrage. She finished fifth on 70 clays, three ahead of Elli Filippou, of Cyprus. This was the first time Malta fielded women shooters in GSSE clay target competitions.

The upset in the shoot-off left Madyson devastated.

"To say that I'm gutted is an understatement given how close I was to winning a medal here," Madyson said.

"I'm not happy with my performance, particularly in the qualifying rounds where I had two poor scores of 19. This was a setback for me but I'm already thinking about my next competition for Malta," added Madyson.

Would that be in Pescara this month?

"No, I will not travel to Pescara for the Mediterranean Games" Madyson said. "My focus now is to prepare for next year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi."

Men's trap

The men's trap competition also got under way yesterday with the first three rounds of 25 clays each.

Nazzareno Attard finished the day third after scores of 23, 23 and 24 for an overall tally of 70 clays. Frans Pace, the other Maltese shooter in this competition, is lagging behind in seventh place on 65.

Nine shooters are taking part. San Marino's Alfio Tomassoni and Monaco's Xavier Boucourt, who both started with a 25-straight yesterday, are leading the way on 72 as the highly-rated Francesco Amici, of San Marino, is tied in fourth place on 66 with two other shooters.

Another two qualifying rounds will be held this morning before the top six contest the final barrage.

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