by Day 1 brought joy for Team Malta in Tennis Men’s Doubles as Asciak and Pecotic triumphed over Team Iceland. In Squash, four participants from Team Malta have made the semi-finals of the Singles’ competitions which will wrap on Day 2. The second day will also end with finals in Athletics, Judo, Swimming and more. Full details below.
Tennis
Matthew Asciak and Matija Pecotic initiated proceedings in the Men’s Doubles at the Marsa Sports Club and made short work of Icelanders Anton Magnusson and Vladimir Ristic, yielding only one game to complete the sets 6-1, 6-0. The two will compete in the Men’s Singles on Day 2, with Matija Pecotic facing Andorra’s Damien Gelabert, followed by Matthew Asciak who will contest against San Marinos’ De Marco. Francesca Curmi and Elaine Genovese will team up against San Marino’s Balduci and Talita Giardi in Women’s Doubles. The latest details in the schedules may be found here.
Squash
Niall Engerer, Daniel Zammit and Kijan Sultana got off to a flying start in Round 1 of the Men’s Singles, all three beating their opponents in straight sets. Engerer and Zammit faced Cypriots Andreas Koufettas and Yiannis Eftychiou, while Sultana triumphed against Iceland’s Gustaf Bjornsson. The matches were followed by quarter-finals in the afternoon, which saw Niall Engerer overcome Luxembourg’s Mark Radley, before Kijan Sultana saw off Maltese compatriot Daniel Zammit.
In the Women’s Singles Quarter-Finals, Colette and Lijana Sultana beat Luxembourg’s Francoise Donven and Michele Meyer, respectively. Meanwhile, Luxembourg’s Sandra Denis fended off Malta’s Johanna Rizzo.
The singles’ competitions will be wrapped up on Day 2, with the semi-finals penned in for the morning hours between 10 am and noon. In the women’s singles Colette Sultana will face Cypriot Vaso Karasava, while Malta’s Lijana Sultana meets Luxembourg’s Sandra Denis. In the Men’s Singles, Kijan Sultana and Niall Engerer will face Liechtenstein’s Luca Wilhelmi and David Maier, respectively. The finals for the Women’s Singles are scheduled for 5.30 pm, which will be followed by the Men’s Singles at 6 pm. Latest details in the schedule can be found here.
Basketball
Cyprus and Luxembourg got the 5×5 competitions off and running, with Luxembourg narrowly taking the wins in their opening group phase matches in both Women’s and Men’s categories.
Day 2 will see Luxembourg face Montenegro in the Women’s category (at 12:15) and Men’s (at 14:30), while hosts Malta face Cyprus at 16:45 (women’s) and 19:00 (men’s). Schedule details and results may be found here.
More on Day 2: Medals Up for Grabs in Athletics, Judo, Swimming
Athletics will kick off on Day 2 as from 3 pm, with finals in various disciplines including the Women’s Hammer Throw, Pole Vault and Long Jump, as well as the Men’s Discus Throw. Finals of the women’s and men’s 100 m, 800 m and 10,000 m races will also be held by the end of the day. Details on the schedule may be found here.
Judo matchups will also kick off on Day 2 with medals being awarded in various of the men’s categories. In the women’s categories Malta’s Katryna Esposito, Kirsty Cauchi and Francesca Catania will all feature in the women’s preliminaries, whereas James Zahra, Sadek Khalaf, Kris Bartolo, Valerian Ogbaidzez and Isaac Bezzina will all have an opportunity for medal’s should they get past their own first hurdles.
In swimming, medals will be awarded by the afternoon in both women’s and men’s categories of the 200 m Butterfly, 100 m, 800 m, and 4 x 100m Freestyles, as well as the 200 m Backstroke and Medley. Detailed schedules and results may be found here
In shooting, Day 2 will hold Men’s and Women’s Trap qualifications. Meanwhile, Table Tennis competitions will also begin as Malta will face Monaco (at 10 am) and Montenegro (at 4.30 pm) in the women’s categories, whereas the men’s team face Andorra (at 7 pm).
Photo: Deea Buzdugan
