The Maltese had a mixed start in the competition yesterday morning, but at the end of the day, there was general satisfaction because of the fact that both Maltese players managed to qualify for the semi-finals.

In section A, Joseph Demanuele played against and beat Plenet of Monaco 15-4. The other player in the group is Albani of San Marino, who had been beaten by Stefan Farrugia for the gold medal at the San Marino Games in 2001.

In section B, David Farrugia had a more difficult task as he was facing Frisoni of San Marino, who is their top player and the favourite to win the gold medal here.

Farrugia lost his match 15-1 but in the afternoon, he beat Monaco player Bruni 15-5 to gain access to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Demanuele lost his second match against Albani 15-10.