Sunday, June 3, 2018, 13:55 by
The ISSF World Cup gets underway on Wednesday with the opening ceremony. Photo; Mark Zammit Cordina
The ISSF World Cup gets underway on Wednesday with the opening ceremony. Photo; Mark Zammit Cordina
MSSF prepares to host landmark event, starting on Wednesday
The world’s leading shooters will be travelling to Malta this week to take part in the ISSF World Cup which will be held at the National Shooting Range Complex in Ta’ Kandja between June 5 and 15.
This is a historic event for the country as it is the first time that the Malta Shooting Sport Federation is hosting this prestigious event that brings together the best shooters in trap and skeet.
In fact over 400 shooters from 60 countries are set to make the trip for the World Cup which gets under way on Wednesday with an opening ceremony.
“The International Shooting Sport Federation organises four World Cup competitions each year in four different continents and the MSSF is proud to have succeeded in bringing such a prestigious competition here,” Salvu Portelli, the MSSF president said.
“I hope that the local public will come here to give their support to our shooters who have been training very hard in the last few months and I’m sure they will do everything they can to get the best possible result.
“We are aware that our representatives will be competing against the best shooters in their category and we will be following them with interest to see how far can our team go in this competition.”
Portelli said that the National Shooting Range in Ta’ Kandja is a jewel for the MSSF that can inspire many young shooters to take up the sport seriously.
“During my time as a shooter many years ago we
never dreamed of having such world class facilities,” Portelli said.
“We are grateful to the government for making this investment which will be a lasting legacy for our sport and will encourage more youngsters to taking up shooting sport serious and represent Malta at the highest level.”
Malta's hopefuls
Malta will be fielding a team of 11 shooters in skeet and trap.
Since according to ISSF rules a country can only field three shooters in each competition, Malta will be having three shooters who will be vying for a place on the podium with the other two taking part to try and achieve a Minimum Qualifying Score that would make them eligible for participation in the 2020 Olympic Games.
In trap, Malta will be competing with William Chetcuti, Brian Galea and Mario Buhagiar in the proper shoot while Nazzareno Attard and Gianluca Chetcuti will be vying for an MQS score.
Bozhidar Dimitrov, Darren Vella and Marlon Attard will be taking part in the men’s skeet event while Marcello Attard and Jason Sciberras will be looking to secure an MQS.
Mikaela Galea will make history in the upcoming World Cup as she will be the first Maltese female shooter to compete in such event when she takes part in the women’s trap and the Mixed Trap alongside William Chetcuti.
On his part, Clifton Grima, the Parliamentary Secretary for Sport, said that Malta should be proud to be hosting such a prestigious tournament and said that the government is committed to embark on similar investment to provide the best opportunities for local sportsmen.
“It’s a great honour for Malta to be able to host the world’s leading shooters at the newly-launched National Shooting Complex in Ta’ Kandja,” Grima said.
“Shooting sport has always brought a lot of success to our country over the years and the government is ready to invest in associations who present serious short or long term strategies that will benefit our athletes.
“To this end we are currently engaged in similar infrastructure projects for swimming, waterpolo and rugby to ensure that our athletes have the right venues to maximise their potential.
“I have no doubt that our shooters will do their best to make the country proud during the World Cup and hopefully we will see some of them on the podium this week.”
PROGRAMME
Wednesday: 20.30 Opening ceremony.
Thursday: 08.00-18.00 Women’s Skeet Day 1.
Friday: 08.00-14.30 Women’s Skeet Day 2; 10.00-17.30 Men’s Skeet Day One; 18.00 Women’s Skeet final.
Saturday: 09.30-17.30 Skeet Men Day 2. 18.30 Men’s Skeet Final.
July 11: 08.00-17.35 Trap Women Day 1.
June 12: 08.00-13.45 Trap Women Day 2; 09.30-16.15 Trap Men Day 1. 17.30 Women’s Trap final.
June 13: 09.30-17.30 Trap Men Day 2. 18.30 Trap Men final.
June 14: 09.00-14.50 Trap Mixed Team. 16.15 Final Trap Mixed Team.
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