Czech Republic, China and France were among the winners of the opening day of action at the World Junior-B Curling Championships in Östersund in Sweden ©World Curling

Czech Republic, China and France were among the winners of the opening day of action at the World Junior-B Curling Championships in Östersund in Sweden, where the final places for the 2017 World Junior Curling Championships are up for grabs.

The Czechs beat Italy 9-5 and are joined at the top of Group A by Latvia, 10-2 winners against Australia, and Russia, 7-2 victors at the expense of Lithuania.

Italy are behind the trio with one win and one loss after recovering from their defeat to the Czech Republic to overcome Austria 10-1.

China, meanwhile, triumphed 4-1 over Hungary in Group B, which also saw Denmark beat Spain 9-3, Slovenia defeat The Netherlands 6-2 and Slovakia overcome England 6-4.

Hong Kong were France’s victims in Group C, losing 10-2 at the Östersund Arena.

Germany are level with France at the summit after beating Finland 10-3, as are Poland, 6-5 winners against Japan, and Turkey, 6-2 victors at the expense of New Zealand. 

The World Junior-B Curling Championships are taking place in Östersund ©World Curling
The World Junior-B Curling Championships are taking place in Östersund ©World Curling

In the women’s event, Italy beat Austria 7-4 and are joined at the top of Group A by Poland, 7-5 winners against Finland, and Turkey, 6-3 victors at the expense of Japan.

Finland are behind the trio with one win and one loss after recovering from their defeat to Poland to overcome Slovenia 7-5.

Czech Republic, meanwhile, triumphed 11-3 over Estonia in Group B, which also saw Latvia beat Romania 13-5, Norway defeat Estonia 9-3 and Scotland overcome Spain 11-4. 

Group C is led by China, 7-5 winners against Germany, along with Denmark, 8-1 victors against Australia, and Slovakia, who proved too strong for England in a 6-4 success.

England bounced back from their loss to beat New Zealand 8-4 and lie in fourth spot. 

The top two teams in each men's and women's round-robin group will proceed to the quarter-finals along with the third-placed team with the best draw shot challenge.

The other third-placed teams will play a qualification game to determine the last quarter-finalist.

Competition is open to junior teams from all World Curling Federation (WCF) Member Associations that have not already qualified for the 2017 World Junior Curling Championships in South Korean city Gangneung.

The top three men's and women's teams overall will qualify for the Championships, which are scheduled to take place from February 16 to 26 and are a test event for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

Round-robin action in Östersund is due to run through to Sunday (January 8).