Some of the athletes have not responded to expectations here in Monaco. Although the Games are not yet over, it is evident that the competitions which have already come to an end have provided fewer satisfactions than expected.

In tennis, table-tennis and swimming, the results did not produce the medals predicted by Chef de Mission Pippo Psaila, while in sailing, there are also three medals fewer though here it is only fair to state that not all the races were held.

Psaila made the right predictions for bowls while the sport of judo exceeded his expectations by two bronze medals.

All this shows that in some of the disciplines already completed, we have made some steps backwards and I am sure Mr Psaila and the Maltese Olympic Committee will be making their own assessments to see what went wrong in this edition.

The major disappointment yesterday came out of the table-tennis hall as the locals were all bundled out of the singles, though in the men’s case, it was quite unfortunate. In the evening the doubles teams also lost their semi-finals and therefore had to be content with just a bronze medal.

However, there was also more joy for the judo clan as the men’s team broke new ground, winning their first ever medal – a bronze – in the team event.

It was also a day to remember for 14-year-old Ella Fleri Soler who won a silver medal in the Optimist Class for women in the sailing event. She became the first female to win a medal in that category.

The Borg brothers – Benji and Sean – were also celebrating their double gold wins in the Optimist and the Laser Radial Classes.

Psaila here had predicted two golds, two silvers and two bronzes. Far from the results achieved, but the lack of wind forced the cancellation of the last race which could have led to results closer to what he had predicted.

So far, the Chef de Mission has matched his predictions in the number of the medals, but definitely not the colours. By yesterday, Malta had won 25 medals as against the 22 predicted by Psaila. So far, the great misses were the swimming gold and the two table-tennis golds.

All is not over, however. We still have to wait until today – the final day of competition – to see whether our athletes in track and field and women’s table-tennis player Yu Wang will be able to make it to the podium.