The injuries to Marcon Bezzina and Brent Law has led to the withdrawal of the Maltese from the team tournament which was held yesterday.

Team official Alex Bezzina told journalists that the decision was taken late on Wednesday night in the best interests of the athletes.

He said: “All athletes were keen to take part but we took into consideration their health first and foremost. We already knew that Marcon Bezzina had been injured from her first match here and then Brent Law suffered a shoulder injury. Although both expressed their wish to play in the tournament, we thought that we should not take any risk.

“Moreover, had we taken part, Jeremy Saywell would have met an opponent who was 15kg heavier in weight, thus we would have exposed him to injury. We certainly were against such a situation prevailing in our ranks.”

The decision was taken by the team officials that included coach Lamberto Raffi.

Bezzina went on to say that the clan was happy with the results obtained despite being forced to abandon the team tournament. He said their major disappointment was Marcon Bezzina. “Not because she fared badly, but after winning her clash against the eventual gold winner, she had to withdraw because of suspected ruptured ligaments. We knew she could have easily won the gold medal.

“Otherwise I must say we did well. Brent Law and Jeremy Saywell did more than was expected of them as they won the silver medal when we were hoping to win a bronze in both categories. As to Johanna, we thought she might have got something better than the bronze she obtained,” he remarked.

Bezzina went on to say that Luxembourg had come here well prepared. “They went around Europe frequently taking part in all the available tournaments. They are lucky in the sense that they have the resources to do so while remain limited, especially in our movements. That is the reason behind the number of golds Luxembourg have won here. Moreover, the number of foreigners among the ranks of Luxembourg, Monaco, Cyprus and Liechtenstein, not to mention the others as well, is another factor why they dominate these Games. We came here with no foreigners. They always have new faces (foreigners included) and that is why they have better standards.

“Still, when we make comparisons with what our competitors have done to achieve their successes and what we have done according to our limited resources, then I think I must conclude that we have done extremely well,” he added.