England men and women enjoyed an unbeaten start to the Commonwealth Championships in Cuttack, India.
The women’s squad of Tin-Tin Ho, Denise Payet and Emily Bolton started with a potentially tricky tie against Nigeria and although Payet was beaten in a tight match by Offiong Edem, two wins for Ho and one for Bolton saw England to a 3-1 victory.
Their second match against Bangladesh was more straightforward and only Payet dropped a set in a 3-0 victory which ensured England topped the group. Their second stage opponents tomorrow are Australia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.
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England men started with a 3-0 win over Cyprus. Tom Jarvis dropped one set against Yiangos Yiangou in the first match, but it was three straight for Sam Walker and David McBeath.
In the second match all three players completed victory in three straight as Sri Lanka were defeated 3-0. England topped the group and now face Australia, Singapore and Nigeria in the second stage.
Scotland’s women’s team of Rebecca Plaistow, Lucy Elliott and Faye Leggett started with a 3-0 defeat to top seeds Singapore, who then also went on to beat Wales (Charlotte Carey, Lara Whitton, Beth Richards) by the same scoreline.
Wales and Scotland then met and it was a 3-0 victory for Wales as Whitton beat Plaistow in five, Carey overcame Leggett in three straight and Richards defeated Elliott in five.
In the second stage, Wales are in a group with India, Malaysia and Nigeria, while Scotland face South Africa, Cyprus and Bangladesh.
Scotland men (Niall Cameron, Colin Dalgleish and Dylan Curry) were beaten 3-0 by a strong host nation team in their first match, while Wales (Josh Stacey, Callum Evans, Ben Watson) lost 3-0 to Australia. Evans had a close match against Kane Townsend before going down 3-2 (7-11, 14-12, 13-15, 11-4, 11-9).
In the second round of matches, Wales overcame South Africa 3-0, with Stacey, Evans and Dean Cundy all notching victories, while Scotland suffered a 3-0 reverse at the hands of Singapore.
In the second stage, Wales are in the same group as India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, while Scotland face Cyprus, Bangladesh and South Africa.
Results
Men’s Team
Group A
England 3 Cyprus 0
Tom Jarvis bt Yiangos Yiangou 3-1 (11-6, 6-11, 13-11, 11-4)
Sam Walker bt Marios Yiangou 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-2)
David McBeath bt Iosif Elia 3-0 (11-7, 11-4, 11-7)
England 3 Sri Lanka 0
McBeath bt Rohan Sirisena 3-0 (11-5, 11-9, 11-3)
Walker bt Krishan Wickramarathna 3-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-6)
Jarvis bt Nirmala Jayasinghe 3-0 (11-2, 11-8, 11-6)
Women’s Team
Group D
England 3 Nigeria 1
Tin-Tin Ho bt Cecilia Akpan 3-0 (11-9, 11-5, 11-7)
Offiong Edem bt Denise Payet 3-0 (11-5, 16-14, 12-10)
Emily Bolton bt Ajoke Ojomu 3-1 (11-13, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9)
Ho bt Edem 3-1 (11-4, 11-4, 8-11, 11-9)
England 3 Bangladesh 0
Ho bt Sadia Rahman Mou 3-0 (11-4, 11-3, 11-3)
Payet bt Sonam Sultana Soma 3-1 (11-5, 12-10, 8-11, 11-3)
Bolton bt Rahima Akter 3-0 (11-2, 11-4, 11-3)