Castellani sees bright prospects for our shooting stars

The San Marino GSSE were an historic landmark for the Malta Shooting Federation. The 2001 Games brought with them Malta's first ever gold medal in the discipline, won by Philip Busuttil in the Double-Trap, ahead of then emerging talent William Chetcuti. Frans Pace completed Malta's medal haul after a remarkable fightback to grab silver in Trap.

This outstanding performance turned out to be the launching pad for the federation as further success in the international field was achieved. This culminated in a Euro Junior Championship silver medal in Italy and a bronze in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

Both impressive conquests bore the name of the ever-improving Chetcuti, now expected to lead Malta's medal charge in next week's Games.

During the past few weeks, trainer Francesco Castellani has been closely monitoring the development of Chetcuti and the other shooters in the Malta squad.

Speaking to The Times this week, the Italian coach was in confident mood and had little doubts that the Maltese are in for a fine showing at the Bidnija ranges.

"I am really impressed with the level of performances reached the last few months. Our shooters have been practising hard and from their scoring results it's clear that they have peaked at the right time and look in a very strong position to challenge for medals," Castellani said.

"In Trap and Double-Trap we definitely should rank among the top placings. Chetcuti is in tremendous form and should be one of the main contenders for the gold medal. Trap competitors Frans Pace and Noel Attard are two experienced performers. They could be the main rivals to the San Marino shooters."

Castellani said Skeet will be the toughest discipline for us.

"We are facing tough rivals in Skeet. It will take one big effort from our shooters to challenge for medals but I'm not discouraged. The level is so high here that no shooter can afford to commit mistakes. On their day our Skeet shooters should return with a good score," Castellani said.

The national coach then warned that medal success does not come with good results in training alone but with an efficient and focused performance on the day.

"One thing is cardinal here - an athlete has to be focused and able to control his nerves. Adequate mental preparation is necessary if a shooter seeks to succeed. At the same time the climatic condition could also have its bearing on the result. Notwithstanding this, I still believe the Malta federation has selected the ideal shooters for the tournaments."

Chetcuti inspiration

Chetcuti's brilliant form these last two years has certainly been one of the highlights in our sporting arena. Since winning silver in San Marino, he never looked back and is regarded by many as Malta's most exciting sportsman at present.

Chetcuti is a down-to-earth lad and being in the limelight will not deter him from focusing on his task.

Earlier this year, shooting's governing body decided to introduce a new rule - a three-second delay from the time a shooter calls the clay and its actual departure from the gadget. At first, Chetcuti struggled but now he is adapting well to the new rule.

"That rule did not really suit my style because I'm quick on the trigger," he said. "However, I always knew that if I trained hard I would be able to overcome this difficulty. Scores are improving at a steady rate and by the time the competition starts I will be 100 per cent ready."

Apart from the three traditional disciplines, Malta will also figure in Air-Rifle and Air-Pistol events.

Maltese target shooters made their GSSE debut in Liechtenstein '99 but this sport is still relatively new here. Training under the guidance of Milan Noro has been going regularly at Bidnija. He looks optimistic and did not ruled out any surprises.

"We've been practising really hard and I think we reached an excellent level of precision," he said.

"On paper, it's not easy for us to win medals but looking at the team's performances in training we rank ourselves as strong outsiders."

Noro, who started coaching in 1989, believes that a strong dose of overseas competitions will enhance the Maltese shooters' qualities.

"The only way I see Maltese shooters reaching a top level in this sport is by competing abroad," he said.

"However, one cannot really venture abroad without attracting sponsorships. These Games should work as a way of drawing the attention of those ready to invest in our sport."