England defeated Greenland 3-0 to get their campaign to qualify for the European Team Championships off to a winning start, then followed up with a 3-1 win over Lithuania.

They then completed their unbeaten group stage run with a 3-0 victory over Switzerland.

Tianer Yu (pictured above), on her major event debut, got the team off and running against Greenland on Tuesday with a 3-0 (11-3, 11-5, 11-4) win over Juliane Schmidt, and Tin-Tin Ho then defeated Inngili Petersen with a mirror image of that score.

With Greenland having only two players, it meant Ella Pashley was not able to take to the court on her own major event debut, but her walkover win completed the victory.

England’s second match, on Wednesday, was against Lithuania, with Jasmin Wong coming into the team in place of Pashley.

Yu was again up first and took the first game against Emilija Riliskyte, but her opponent hit back to take the next three.

Ho levelled up with a comfortable 3-0 success against Marija Mikalauskyte, and it was almost as smooth for Wong as she defeated Lukrecija Juchnaite, again in three.

Ho took the first two games with relative ease against Riliskyte and looked on course for another victory in three straight, but her opponent managed to stay in the match – and keep her country in the tie – 14-12 in the third. However, it was only a temporary reprieve as Ho won the fourth 11-7.

Against Switzerland, Tianer Yu battled a tight contest with Rachel Moret. After sharing the opening four games, it was a nailbiter to the end as Yu crossed the line at the end, with an 11-9 score.

Tin-Tin Ho followed suit, with a solid victory over Fanny Doutaz, despite needing 13 points to win the final game. Jasmin Wong also took a clean sweep against Ludivine Maurer to secure England’s place at the top of Group B.

Their three victories in the Qualification stage ensures their progress to the Main Stage which features four groups of three teams. The winner of each of these groups will qualify for the European Team Championships, while those teams who finish in second place, will play off for the final two qualifying spots.

England have been drawn against Norway and Slovenia. The match with Norway will take place on Friday 24th January at 15:30 GMT, while the fixture with Slovenia will take place on Saturday 25th January at 08:30 GMT.

A total of 17 countries are competing in the women’s tournament, with six places available at the European Championships final tournament in Croatia in October. England’s men do not need to qualify.

Result

Women’s Group B
England 3 Greenland 0
Tianer Yu bt Juliane Schmidt 3-0 (11-3, 11-5, 11-4)
Tin-Tin Ho bt Inngili Petersen 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-3)
Ella Pashley w/o

England 3 Lithuania 1
Emilija Riliskyte bt Tianer Yu 3-1 (7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-5)
Tin-Tin Ho bt Marija Mikalauskyte 3-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-5)
Jasmin Wong bt Lukrecija Juchnaite 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-8)
Ho bt Riliskyte 3-1 (11-6, 11-6, 12-14, 11-7)

England 3 Switzerland 0
Tianer Yu bt Rachel Moret 3-2 (11-5, 6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9)
Tin-Tin Ho bt Fanny Doutaz 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 13-11)
Jasmin Wong bt Ludivine Maurer 3-0 (11-7, 13-11, 11-5)