Follow Team Malta at this year’s Olympics in Tokyo
Maltese athletes kick off Tokyo 2020 with Matthew Abela in the badminton men’s singles on Sunday 25 July
Yasmin Zammit Stevens
The Maltese contingent has started to trickle into Tokyo, as COVID-19 regulations stipulate that athletes arrive no earlier than five days prior to their competition and leave no later than two days after their event concludes.
Badminton player Matthew Abela was the first to arrive and start training. He was followed by shooter Eleanor Bezzina and swimmers Andrew Chetcuti and Sasha Gatt with their coach Artem Goncharenko. The remaining athletes are expected to arrive by the end of the week.
The tentative schedule for competitions are as follows (times quoted above are Tokyo times).
Sunday 25 July
Badminton, 12:40pm, Men’s Singles: Matthew Abela vs Shi Yu Q (CHN)
Shooting, 9am, 10m Air Pistol Qualifications: Eleanor Bezzina
Swimming, 8:39pm, 400m Heats: Sasha Gatt
Monday 26 July
Swimming, 8:32pm, 1,500m heats: Sasha Gatt
Tuesday 27 July
Weightlifting, 11:50am, 64kgs: Yazmin Zammit Stevens
Swimming, 7pm, 100m heats: Andrew Chetcuti
Thursday 29 July
Shooting, 9am, 25m Pistol Qualifications: Eleanor Bezzina
Friday 30 July
Athletics, 9am, 100m Heats: Carla Scicluna
The Opening Ceremony takes place Friday 23 July at 8pm at the Olympic Stadium. The Maltese Flag will be carried by shooter Eleanor Bezzina and swimmer Andrew Chetcuti who both have competed in previous Olympic Games.
