Vassallo and Zammit keep Med. Games build-up on track
Young hopefuls make first showing abroad
There were some encouraging results lately for Maltese wrestlers on the international scene after tournaments in Sicily and Spain.
In the Grand Prix of Sicily earlier this month, the national selection finished fourth from eight teams with Abraham Vassallo and Jason Zammit winning silver medals in their categories.
A few months ago Malta's national team had claimed a creditable fifth placing, out of ten nations in the Madrid Grand Prix.
Five wrestlers were in the Malta selection for the Grand Prix in Palermo, all under the charge of national coach Jesmond Giordemaina.
His team included three youngsters, namely, Matthew Vella, Luke Debono and Charlò Borg. They were making their debuts in international wrestling tournaments abroad.
The participation in Palermo was mainly part of Vassallo and Zammit's build-ups for the 2005 Mediterranean Games in Spain.
They both took part in higher weight categories in Sicily.
Vassallo beat Filippo Milone and Salvatore Scotto, both Italians, and also had the better of Poland's Slawomir Wiatrak.
In the decisive bout for the gold medal, Vassallo lost to Antonino Galbo, an upcoming Italian wrestler.
On his part, Zammit beat Italian duo Giuseppe Di Stefano and Paolo Lumia but lost to Carol Milkowski, of Poland, the eventual gold medal winner.
Vella, Debono and Borg did not score any victories but did what Giordemaina was expecting of them in the circumstances as they were trying to beat the jitters of their first showing in such competitions.