'We need to take sports more seriously' - Olympic shooter Eleanor Bezzina

If you have ever watched a film involving a police officer in training, you will have come across a scene at the shooting range, with the main protagonist wearing noise-cancelling headphones while relentlessly shooting a cardboard figure. Eleanor Bezzina’s training looks very similar to those scenes, except for the cardboard cut-out and The Eye of the Tiger blaring in the background. Eleanor Bezzina at the shooting range. Photo: Joanna Demarco Eleanor, one of the athletes who last month represented Malta at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, prefers listening to Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. “I don’t like training in silence,” she explains. “Apart from 70s rock, I also like local bands and, recently, I really enjoyed training to Ira Losco and Matthew James’ song Tbissem.” A sports lover from an early age, Eleanor was always encouraged by her parents to try different disciplines. In her younger days, most of the sports she tried were team sports. But then, in her 30s, she was introduced to target shooting and never looked back. Although it looks like a relatively easy sport, shooting requires a lot more than good eyesight, she says. On top of her shooting training, Eleanor runs an...