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Commonwealth Games 2018: Maltese athletes fail to secure places in final legs of competition
Whilst there was no doubt in the commitment and determination to perform well by all Maltese athletes at the Commonwealth Games there was a degree of disappointment in the Gold Coast today, when Maltese athletes failed to secure places in final legs of competition.
Photo: Maria Vella-Galea
In Lawn Bowls, bronze medal winning sisters Connie and Rebecca Rixon, had a strong win against Zambia, after having played closely until the tenth end. A determined push from the Rixons to secure a win saw their efforts play off when they won with a score of 24-12. It was a much closer call later on in the day, when they played against Papua New Guinea – with a comfortable advantage until the eleventh end, Papua New Guinea edged closer to Malta with Malta winning in a close call on the eighteenth and last end, with just one point ahead. Malta won 20-19. Despite their fine showing today, Malta previous three losses put an end to their commitments in the Women’s Pairs in these Games.
Further disappointment was suffered when Maltese shooters William Chetcuti and Nathan Lee Xuereb failed to secure place in the final in the double trap competition. Chetcuti, two-time bronze medalist in the Commonwealth Games, hit scores of 26, 25, 25, 26 and 28 to finish with an overall score 130 from 150, placing 9th in the 27 man competition. Chetcuti finished just two points short of Aamer Iqbal, of Pakistan, who took the final qualifying spot. Xuereb, hit 24, 29, 24, 26 and 22 to garner 125 points that left him in 12th place.
Squash Women’s Doubles team Dianne Kellas and Colette Sultana had a convincing win against Pakistan’s Madina Zafar and Faiza Zafar, winning in two straight sets. Simultaneously Men’s Doubles partners Daniel Zammit-Lewis and Bradley Hindle were battling it out against Paul Coll and Campbell Grayson, who however had the better of the Maltese duo to win 2-0. Hindle and Coll met once again on court with their respective Mixed Doubles Partners Dianne Kellas and Joelle King. New Zealanders Coll and King, current World Mixed Doubles Champions proved a tough act to beat. Nevertheless, Malta’s fighting spirit was evident in every shot they played.
On Thursday 12th April, Maltese wrestler Gary Giordimaina will be hitting the mats at the Carrara Sports Complex and will be kicking off his competition against Muhammed Bilal (Pakistan) in the 57 kgs category. Squash will see Bradley Hindle and Daniel Zammit Lewis take on Jules Snagg and Jason Doyle (St. Vincent & Grenadines) whilst Mixed Doubles duo Bradley Hindle and Dianne Kellas will meet English counterparts Alison Walters and Darryl Selby.
