Shooter of Maltese origin wins gold in Trap Pairs

Maltese shooters were in action in Bisley yesterday as Nicky Carabott and Joe Attard registered a good performance in the Commonwealth Games Trap Pairs hitting a total of 177 clays. They finished sixth out of 18 pairs.

Nicky Carabott hit 87 clays including a first round of 24 hits.

Attard smashed 90 clays including two rounds of 24. It was only in the third round that he faltered managing only a modest 19.

Still, Malta's overall placing meant a higher ranking than the more quoted New Zealand, Cyprus, Canada and Scotland.

The event was won by Australia with a total of 187 clays.

Here, Adam Vella, a shooter of Maltese descent, teamed up with the renowned Michael Diamond to claim gold.

Vella and Diamond finished on the same score with Englishmen Ian Peel and Christopher Simon Dean but went on to win a shoot-off.

England took the silver medal and Wales clinched the bronze.

In the men's 10m air-rifle pairs competition, Mario Abela and William Vella found the going tough as they placed 11th out of a pool of 13 nations.

The Maltese duo registered a total score of 1,122. The event was won by India's Abhinav Bindra and Sameer Ambekar with a total score of 1,184. A Malaysian duo (1,164) won the silver medal and host nation England (1,160) had to settle for the bronze.

This morning, Carol Galea will be in action as she tackles athletics' most demanding event - the marathon. The race is scheduled for 9 a.m. and will start from Albert Square.

Also in action today are double trap shooters William Chetcuti and Paul Vella, the latter better known in the skeet environs. The Maltese will be figuring in the double trap team event.

Meanwhile, the swimming group, comprising Angela Galea, Roberta Callus and coach Attila Selmeci, arrived in Manchester yesterday and underwent a first training session later on in the day.