There was more success for local shooters at the Malta International Grand Prix as William Chetcuti won the double trap competition ahead of Gianluca Chetcuti at the Bidnija Ranges yesterday.

This was Malta’s second gold medal in this competition after Darren Vella topped the Skeet category on Wednesday.

William Chetcuti found his range right from the outset as the Manikata-born shooter led the qualifying round with a total of 135 hits from 150.

He finished one point clear of Italy’s Alessandro Chianese while Gianluca Chetcuti and Davide Gaspari were joint-third on 132.

Nathan Lee Xuereb (131) and Finland’s Simo Koylinen (130) claimed the other two berths in the semi-finals after the latter had the better of Italy’s Valerio Vallifuoco in a shoot-off.

Gianluca Chetcuti, 18, put on a strong showing in the semi-finals as he progressed to the gold medal match with an impressive score of 29 from 30.

William Chetcuti set up an all-Maltese showdown when placing second with 27.

A shoot-off was needed to decide who will contest the bronze medal play-off after Xuereb, Koylinen and Chianese all finished level on 26 hits.

Here, Xuereb and Chianese booked the two semi-final spots at the expense of the Finnish shooter.

William Chetcuti showed his class and experience when smashing a straight to seal the title as Gianluca Chetcuti could only manage 26.

The third-place play-off turned out to be a tense affair with Chianese edging Xuereb 29-28 to take the bronze medal.

Tomorrow, 66 shooters will take part in the qualifying round of the Trap competition.

The final will be held on Sunday.

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