Julian Pace Bonello, the MOC president, sounded positive on Team Malta’s chances on bettering the result achieved in San Marino two years ago as the local governing body of elite sport announced the contingent that will take part in the 2019 GSSE in Montenegro at the end of the month.
Team Malta will be formed by over 80 athletes for the Montenegro expedition and they will be taking part in eight disciplines at the Small Nations Games which will be held between May 27 and June 1.
Two years ago, Team Malta returned home with 29 medals – four gold, nine silver and 16 bronze and although this time around the Games will feature a fully-fledged Montenegro contingent for the first time since its first appearance in the Games in 2011, the MOC chief still thinks that the Maltese athletes can achieve better results.
“We are heading to the Montenegro GSSE with a stronger group of athletes than two years ago,” Pace Bonello said.
“During the last two years our athletes showed significant improvement in track and field events and swimming while this time around we are also fielding our men’s basketball team who won gold in the European Small States Championship last year.
“I firmly think that we will be competitive in all the disciplines we are taking part in and we have the ability to improve the colour of medals this time round.”
Pace Bonello said that the MOC had accepted all the nominees made by the participating associations and they have also included some upcoming athletes who will be making the trip to gain valuable experience vis-à-vis their preparation for the upcoming editions in 2021 in Andorra and in Malta two years later.
“With the government assistance significantly increased in the last few months, it gave us the opportunity to plan on a longer term and therefore we have already started to think for the next two editions in Andorra and Malta,” Pace Bonello said.
“After our return from Montenegro, talks are planned with the Parliamentary Secretary for Sport to implement a better sporting strategy to ensure that our upcoming athletes are given the best possible platform to maximise their talent and be successful on the international scene.”
On his part, Ivan Balzan, the MOC Director of Sport, said that the list of athletes is almost finalised and they are only awaiting this weekend’s athletic meeting to finalise the relay selections in the track and field competitions.
The event will also be a good opportunity to gauge the fitness of sprinter Charlotte Wingfield, a double gold medallist in San Marino, who has just returned from an injury.
“This edition will be a huge challenge for us as Montenegro will surely show all their prowess as hosts of the Games,” Balzan said.
“But in the last few months we worked closely with all the coaches in the various disciplines and I have great belief in our athletes.”
Paul Sultana, Malta’s chef de mission in Montenegro, said that the host country were working very hard to provide a perfect setting for the Games.
“The Games are being held in five different cities and the facilities that will be hosting the event are top class,” Sultana said.
“One venue that is still being constructed is the athletics track but it should be completed in the coming days. I’m looking forward to these Games as Montenegro are determined to put in a great show and hopefully our athletes can shine too.”
At the end of the press conference, Pace Bonello announced that double trap shooter Gianluca Chetcuti will be Malta’s flag bearer in Montenegro.
Chetcuti was a star performer in San Marino after striking gold in double trap.
MALTA CONTINGENT
Athletics: Claire Azzopardi, Lisa Marie Bezzina, Mona Lisa Camilleri, Paula Grech, Rebecca Sare, Roberta Schembri, Charlotte Wingfield; Jacob El Aida Chaffey; Omar El Aida Chaffey; Ian Paul Grech, Jordan Gusman, Luke Micallef, Damien Mizzi.
Basketball: men’s team; women’s team.
Beach volley: Dominika Dworniczak, Melissa Sue Cheviron; Roberto Balzan; Manuel Raffa.
Judo: Lara Castillo, Kataryna Esposito; Francesco Aufieri, Isaac Bezzina, Clive Camilleri, Luca Montebello, Jeremy Saywell.
Shooting: Eleonor Bezzina; William Vella, Gianluca Chetcuti, William Chetcuti, Brian Galea.
Swimming: Mya Azzopardi, Francesca Falzon Young, Alexandra McGonigle, Sasha Gatt, Amy Micallef, Martina Valletta, Michee Van Rooyen; Dylan Cachia, Andrew Chetcuti, Matthew Galea, Harry Stacey, Michael Stafrace, Mikhail Umnov, Thomas Wareing.
Table tennis: Sasha Genovese; Viktoria Lucenkova; Jessica Pace; Daniel Bajada; Andrew Gambina; Gabriel Grixti.
Tennis: Francesca Curmi, Elaine Genovese; Matthew Asciak, Matthew Cassar Torreggiani, Omar Sudzuka.