Hakan Dahlby has backed William Chetcuti to fulfil his lifelong dream of winning a medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The 46-year-old Swede, winner of back-to-back European titles in 2003 and 2004, is one of the most experienced shooters on the ISSF circuit and has seen Chetcuti develop from a budding talent to one of the leading double trap shooters in the world.

“Chetcuti has matured a lot as a shooter in the last few months and from what I’ve seen, I believe he will be ready for the London Games,” the Stockholm-based shooter said.

“He will be among the protagonists next August. William is a great talent and he will have no problem hitting a big score in London and bring home Malta’s first ever Olympic medal.”

Dahlby has also been impressed by the emergence of Nathan Lee Xuereb. Last month, the 15-year-old became the youngest shooter to reach a World Cup final, just finishing outside the podium in Tucson.

“I really admire the talent of Nathan Lee,” Dahlby said. “He is only 15 but the way he performed at last month’s World Cup shoot in the US was amazing. The fact that he has such a great training partner in William is clearly benefitting his development.

“Besides, Nathan’s pressure could push on William. Having a talented shooter competing with him, William knows that he will have to be in his best form.”

Turning his sights to his own prospects for the London Games, Dahlby said: “For me it has been a difficult year. I lost my father only last month and psychologically it has affected me a lot as I’m not 100 per cent focused.

“When you lose someone close to you, you need time to recover. The London Games are a huge objective for me. I’ve never managed to win a medal in these Games and on my day, I know that I can be among the contenders for the gold medal.”