Three of the four athletes representing Malta at the European Games were in action last weekend in Minsk, Belarus.

Mikela Galea did not enjoy the best of start to her commitments in Belarus as the trap shooter could not take part in the practice sessions as her shot gun failed to arrive in time.

Galea, who qualified for these Games after obtaining her berth with a tenth placing at the 2018 World Championships in Changwong, South Korea, struggled on the first day of competition.

In fact, Galea compiled poor scores of 16, 18 and 16 to end the day with a modest 50 from 75. On Sunday, she showed signs of improvement by hitting 23 from 25 but then ended her commitments with a 16 for an over score of 89 from 125.

That left her in 28th place from 29 shooters.

Judoka Jeremy Saywell was unlucky in his draw when he picked Ukrainian Georgii Zantaraia.

The towering Zantaraia is currently ranked ninth in the world and boasts world and European titles in the -60kg category.

Saywell started brightly and almost surprised his opponent. But Zantaraia’s experience eventually came through as he scored an Ippon to score victory. Zantaraia eventually won the European title for 2019 after defeating Italy’s Matteo Medves.

In cycling, Alexander Smyth took part in the 180km Road Race, which saw 141 cyclists take part.  The brutal race also saw 19 cyclists not finishing the race. Despite having to work on his own due to just one place being allocated to Malta. Throughout the race, Smyth kept his place in the main group. This solid performance saw him finish in 95th Place.  

Malta’s last athlete to compete in Minsk will be Eleonor Bezzina who today will take part in the women’s 25m Pistol qualification.

The Maltese contingent in Minsk is led by MOC president Julian Pace Bonello and general secretary Joseph Cassar. MOC Director of Sport Ivan Balzan is also undertaking Chef de Mission duties.