The Maltese national team was off to a good start in the Waterpolo European ‘B’ Championships being played in Manchester when yesterday they beat Belgium 15-8 in a qualifying match from Group A.

Malta were always in command and won all four sessions, 3-2, 4-1, 4-3 and 4-2.

Malta’s other opponents in this Group are Belarus, Turkey, Macedonia and Montenegro. Malta will be meeting the latter today at 4pm.

Yesterday, Macedonia edged Belarus 11-10 also from the same group.

In Group B, Ukraine beat Poland 7-6 while a strong France team thrashed Ireland 33-5.

This prestigious competition, played over eight days, is to decide who wins promotion to a higher division in the European zone and includes a preliminary round, quarter-finals and semi-finals before the final game. Each team plays one match per day.