With the Cyprus-Greece handball match and the participation of 24 other athletes in six sports, the 20th Mediterranean Games continue on Thursday, August 27 “Taranto 26.”

This marks the first time fin swimming is featured in the Games, a debut for sailing, while athletes from the Cyprus Olympic Committee’s delegation continue to compete in tennis, shooting, badminton, and archery.

Here is a breakdown of the Cypriot entries:

In handball, Cyprus faces Greece in its third match in Group 3. In a game that will go down in history, the competitive aspect takes a back seat. The difference in ability between the two teams is clear, and our handball players will gain valuable high-level experience on the court. However, for Greece—which is aiming for nothing less than the gold medal—first place in the group is at stake, and it will likely be decided by goal differential against Algeria. The two teams drew in their head-to-head match and each has one win over the other two teams in the group. Algeria currently holds a +1 goal advantage over Greece, and the two remaining matches are Greece vs. Cyprus and Algeria vs. Tunisia. The Greece vs. Cyprus match will be played first.

It’s the debut for sailing, with six athletes competing in four categories. They are Marilena Makri and Andriani Georgiou (ILCA6), Emilio Poero and Errikos Kattirtzis (ILCA7), Natassa Lappa (iQFoil), and Iakovos Christofidis (iQFoil). In these four categories, the first day includes two races. The competition will conclude on September 2 after six days of racing, with 10 races scheduled for each category, followed by the final on September 2. The sailors will not compete on Saturday, August 29.

A historic debut for Fin Swimming. Nikos Hatzipanagis Morias will compete in the 50-meter Apnea (Apnea), a distance athletes must cover underwater. He will enter the pool for the first qualifying heat in an event featuring 14 swimmers.

In archery, the team’s six athletes will begin in the morning with the individual knockout matches starting in the round of 32, with the goal that by the end of the day, some of them will advance to the quarterfinals—and why not the semifinals—which will conclude the day’s schedule.

In Mixed Doubles, the pair of Irina Konnova and Christos Thomas will face the Algerian team in the Round of 16.

In badminton, the two-day doubles competition begins, with the two men’s teams and the one women’s team vying for a spot in the quarterfinals first thing in the morning. The first men’s team (Kokosis/Kattirtzis) will face Egypt, the second (Giannopoulos/Tambourlas) will face North Macedonia, and the women’s team (Michael/Pissi) will face Slovenia. If any of these teams advance, they will compete in the afternoon quarterfinals.

In tennis, where the tournament is proceeding at a slow pace, there will be three matches for the Cypriot players. In the Women’s Singles, starting in the Round of 16, Raluca Serban will face L. Muharem from Kosovo, and immediately afterward, Andrea Georgiou Papakyriakou will take on Buyukaksay from Turkey on the same court. In the doubles quarterfinals, Eleftherios Neos and Melios Efstathiou will face the duo from Kosovo, and a potential victory would pave the way for a shot at Greece’s first tennis medal at the Mediterranean Games.

In shooting, in the 10m Air Pistol event, Christos Gerasimou aims to qualify for the top ten in the final, an event in which a total of 20 shooters are competing.

The schedule (Cyprus time):

TENNIS / Magna Grecia Tennis  

8:00 p.m. “Round of 16” Singles (C) Raluca Serban vs. Learta Muharremi (KOS) (Court 2)

9:30 PM “8” Doubles (A) Eleftherios Neos / Melios Efstathiou vs. Jasmin Jakupi / Florent Limano (KOS) (Court 7)           

10:00 p.m. “16” Singles (C) Andrea Georgiou Papakyriakou vs. C. Buyukakcay (TUR) (Court 2)

ARTISTIC SWIMMING – FIN / Torre d’Ayala Swimming Stadium

11:00 a.m. 50m Apnea (A) Heats Nikos Hatzipanagis Morias 14 entrants

7:00 p.m. 50m Apnea (A) Final Nikos Hatzipanagis Morias 8 participants *

* If he qualifies

BADMINTON / Francavilla Sport Hall

11:00 a.m. Doubles (A) “16” Cyprus 1 (Nikolas Kokosis / Aris Kattirtzis) vs. Egypt

11:40 a.m. Doubles (A) “16” Cyprus 2 (Konstantinos Giannopoulos / Ioannis Tambourlas) vs. North Macedonia

1:00 p.m. Doubles (C) “16” Cyprus (Chara Michael / Ioanna Pissi) vs. Slovenia

3:00–5:00 p.m. Doubles (A + C) “8” *

* If they qualify

SHOOTING – AIR GUN / Torricella F. Albano

11:15 a.m. 10m Air Pistol (A) Qualifying Christos Gerasimou 20 participants

2:30 p.m. 10m Air Pistol (A) Final Christos Gerasimou 10 shots *
* If he qualifies

HANDBALL / Fasano Sport Hall

12:00 Group B Cyprus – Greece

SAILING / Torpediniere Center

1:00 PM + 3:00 PM ILCA7 (A) 1st+2nd Races Aimilios Poeros, Errikos Karatzis

1:00 p.m. + 3:00 p.m. ILCA6 (C) 1st+2nd Races Marilena Makri, Andriani Georgiou

1:00 p.m. + 3:00 p.m. iQFoil (A) 1st + 2nd Races Iakovos Christofidis

1:00 p.m. + 3:00 p.m. iQFoil (A) 1st + 2nd Rounds Natassa Lappa

ARCHERY / New Archery Field

10:15 Individual (A) “32” Thomas Christos vs. Ziga Ravnikar (SLO)

10:15 Individual (A) “32” Konstantinos Panagi vs. Mihajlo Stefanovic (SER)

10:15 Individual (A) “32” Christos El Helali vs. Mateo Borsani (ITA)

10:15 Singles (A) “32” Irina Konnova vs. Gkorila Anatoli Martha (GRE)

10:15 Singles (A) “32” Christina Argyridou vs. Leyte Fernandez Infante (ESP)

10:15 Singles (A) “32” Christina Hatzierotokritou vs. Chiara Rebagliati (ITA)

3:45 p.m. Mixed “16” Cyprus (I. Konnova / Chr. Thomas) – Algeria (Yasmine Bellal / Yacine Imloul)