Team Malta enjoyed another busy day of competition at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Sunday, with encouraging displays in artistic gymnastics and lawn bowls highlighting the nation’s growing presence on the international stage.
Philippa Busuttil delivered another memorable performance by becoming the first Maltese gymnast to compete in a Commonwealth Games women’s all-around final. She finished with a total score of 41.50 after completing routines across all four apparatus.
Busuttil opened her campaign on the uneven bars, producing a technically demanding routine that earned 9.750 points. She battled through a difficult balance beam routine before impressing on the floor exercise, where she successfully executed all three tumbling passes, including a double tuck and double twist, scoring 10.450. Her routine also drew praise from commentators for its creative choreography before she completed her competition on the vault.
Competing alongside elite gymnasts, including Canadian Olympian Ellie Black, Busuttil’s achievement marks another significant milestone for Maltese gymnastics. She will return to action on Tuesday, 28 July, when she competes in the balance beam final.
Malta also enjoyed an unforgettable moment in the women’s lawn bowls pairs competition, where sisters Connie and Rebecca Rixon produced a stunning comeback to defeat reigning world champions Tonga.
After suffering a heavy 10-0 defeat in the opening set, the Maltese duo refused to surrender. They responded with an impressive display to win the second set 6-4 before keeping their composure to claim the deciding tie-break 1-0 and complete a remarkable victory.
Later in the day, however, the sisters were unable to extend their campaign after losing to South Africa’s Thabelo Muvhango and Jacqui Janse van Rensburg.
Once again Malta fell behind early, losing the opening set 7-0, but fought back strongly in the second. The Rixons looked set to force another tie-break before a decisive bowl from the South African skip turned the match around, helping secure an 8-5 victory and bringing Malta’s women’s pairs campaign to an end.
In the men’s singles competition, Shaun Parnis produced another impressive display to defeat India’s Putul Sonowal. Parnis dominated the opening set 10-4 before Sonowal responded with a hard-fought 7-7 draw in the second. The convincing first-set victory proved enough to secure the overall match win for the Maltese bowler.
Team Malta returns to action on Monday, 27 July, with another busy schedule. Sprinters Claire Azzopardi and Graham Pellegrini will compete in the opening-round heats of the women’s and men’s 100 metres respectively, while Kim Camilleri Laganà will represent Malta in the women’s 53kg weightlifting event. The day’s programme concludes with Shaun Parnis taking on Cecil Alexander of the Falkland Islands in his next men’s singles lawn bowls match.
