Malta Weightlifting Association to host second ranking competition

This competition will also serve as a final selection for both the European Small Nations Tournament to be held the following month in Malta, as well as the Malta Open, which is to be held in May.

The teams that have confirmed their participation are Monaco, San Marino, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Italy, Switzerland, England, Wales and Scotland.

The Maltese national team will be looking to honour their last year's performance at the European Small Nations Tournament, which was held in Luxembourg. The team, comprising of Noel Coleiro, Matthew Muscat Inglott and Serbian-Maltese lifter Jovan Reljic, returned home with a silver medal after a solid performance under pressure. Eighteen year old Rodmar Pulis was unable to participate however will be looking at providing a great boost for the Malta team this time round.

This will be the national team's second international competition of 2013, following  an inspiring performance at the Mediterranean Cup held in Brindisi, Italy, last month, where Malta placed 7th out of the 12 countries that participated.

This year's events promise to be challenging and also present a great opportunity for the local weightlifting community, with President Jesmond Caruana at the helm of their organisation as well as head coach.