High hopes for good results at the Bidnija ranges

The number of medals won by Maltese shooters in past GSSE editions belies our true potential in this discipline. Before the San Marino Games in 2001, our shooters had only managed a mere two bronze medals, won at the Bidnija shooting range by Emmanuel Abela, in the Trap event, and Philip Busuttil, in Double Trap.

Two years ago, Maltese shooters overcame the jinx that had been haunting them away from our shores at this level. Busuttil and young William Chetcuti made it a clean sweep in Double Trap, winning gold and silver in a competition they dominated from start to finish.

On his part, seasoned Frans Pace took silver in Trap to push Malta's medal tally at San Marino to a respected one gold and two silvers.

Following this encouraging performance, it stands to reason that expectations are high at the Bidnija ranges next month.

The venue, which will host all shooting events, has undergone major refurbishments with the installation of new equipment and machinery. This apparatus has been installed months in advance to allow our shooters to acclimatise themselves to the new surroundings.

In all, five events will be contested - Trap, Double Trap, Skeet, Air-Rifle and Air-Pistol. A maximum number of two shooters can be entered in each event. The Malta Shooting Federation has organised a number of competitions which served as qualifying heats for the GSSE.

William Vella, another upcoming talent, and Lawrence Darmanin were selected in Air-Rifle. Both have been shooting consistently well in the past few months and Vella has also registered a string of excellent results in various competitions.

Training under the watchful eye of Serbian coach Milan Noro, the Air-Rifle duo have made remarkable progress and on their day, they will definitely be in the reckoning for a medal, the first ever to be won in this discipline.

Noro is also responsible for the Air-Pistol shooters. Here, Anton Camilleri and Ray Cacciattolo have emerged as the two strongest and most consistent performers. The two will be seeking to stop the Luxembourg athletes from claiming gold and silver as they did in San Marino.

As part of the ongoing training programme, the four to represent Malta in the air-weapons' events are currently participating in an international tournament in Serbia.

Air-Rifle and Air-Pistol shooters are also expected here soon to figure in a reciprocal competition at Bidnija. This should serve as a dress rehearsal before the adrenalin start rushing in the first week of June.

The federation has recently organised an international competition which saw local shooters testing their skills against some of Europe's finest in the clay disciplines. Shooters from Finland, Ireland, Norway, Luxembourg, San Marino and Italy (including the national team) took part.

Our GSSE hopefuls were at their best here as Pace won the Trap event and Horace Micallef clinched bronze. The latter made a welcome return to competitive shooting and is considered as one of the front runners for the GSSE team.

During the international tournament, Chetcuti won silver in the Double Trap. The emerging prodigy of local shooting had a very promising year following his other silver medal at the European Junior Championships and the memorable bronze at the Commonwealth Games.

Chetcuti and Emmanuel Grima are the two who will be representing Malta at the GSSE in Double Trap.

Success in the international competition did not stop there as Skeet shooter Paul Vella overcame some stiff challenge to win a bronze medal.

Vella, who will be accompanied by Silvio Attard in the GSSE team, has been shooting exceptionally well in the past few weeks and his performances are bound to be monitored by Cypriot and San Marino athletes who usually share the Skeet medals all by themselves on such occasions.

Maltese clay-shooters are coached by Italian Lamberto Castellani. His squad will be in action again this month for the International Grand Prix with the participation of Italian and English shooters.

All indications are pointing towards an excellent showing in the GSSE next month. However, psychology plays a massive part in this nail-biting sport and our shooters know only too well that they have to be calm, focused and determined if they want to earn a place on the podium.

Mati Mark, of Estonia, will be the International Technical Director for the GSSE. Germany's Max Muckl will be supervising the target shooting events.

Maltese delegates have been certified as ISSF judges, a qualification which they obtained in 2000. They will be judging together with officials from the other participating nations.

GSSE Shooting

Trap
Tuesday, June 3 - first 75 clays.
Wednesday, June 4 - 50 clays and final round.

Double Trap
Friday, June 6 - 150 clays followed by final round of 50 in the afternoon.

Skeet
Friday, June 6 - 75 clays.
Saturday, June 7 - 50 clays followed by final round of 25 in the afternoon.

Air-Rifle
Wednesday, June 4.

Air-Pistol
Thursday, June 5.