Alex Degabriele and Liam Delicata produced one of Team Malta’s best moments so far at the XX Mediterranean Games in Taranto after beating the home pair Carlo Caniato and Filippo Romano in the men’s doubles quarter-final.
The Maltese pair faced a difficult atmosphere with the Italian crowd strongly behind the home players. Every point won by the Italians was greeted with loud cheers.
Malta lost the opening set 6-3 and were under pressure to keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive.
However, Degabriele and Delicata showed great character to fight back. They won a closely contested second set 7-5 to level the match before keeping their composure in the deciding tie-break to complete a 2-1 victory.
The win sends the Maltese pair into the semi-finals.
Elaine Genovese was also in action twice on Thursday.
In the women’s singles, Genovese faced Morocco’s Yasmine Kabbaj. After a close opening set, the Maltese player eventually lost 7-5, 6-1.
Genovese later returned to the court for the mixed doubles alongside Alex Degabriele. The Maltese pair faced Spain’s Lucia Cortez Llorca and Sanchez Quilez, who won the match 6-1, 6-2.
Despite the difficult schedule, hot conditions and strong opposition, both Genovese and Degabriele gave a committed performance.
In sailing, Malta’s athletes competed in the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes.
Mia Busuttil made an excellent start in the ILCA 6, finishing third in the opening race. The first race was held in a sea breeze of around 10-12 knots before the conditions eased to 5-8 knots for the second race.
The Maltese sailors face strong competition, with the fleets including athletes who have won World and European Championship titles. Consistency will therefore be important as the competition continues.
In badminton, Francesca and Martina Clark were involved in a close battle against Greece at the Francavilla Sport Hall.
The Greek pair won the opening game 21-10, but the Maltese sisters responded strongly to take the second game 21-19 and level the match.
The deciding game went down to the wire, with both pairs exchanging points before Greece eventually won 23-21 to take the match 2-1.
Team Malta will be back in action on Friday.
Liam Delicata will face Greece’s Ioannis Xylas in the men’s singles third round in the evening, while Malta’s sailing team will compete in two more races during the day.
