Brothers Shaolin Sándor Liu and Shaoang Liu impressed in front of a home crowd on the opening day of the ISU Short Track European Championships ©Getty Images

Brothers Shaolin Sándor Liu and Shaoang Liu impressed in front of a home crowd on the opening day of the International Skating Union (ISU) Short Track European Championships in Debrecen.

Elder brother Shaolin Sándor is out to defend his men's 1500 metres title at Great Forest Park in the Hungarian city, topping heat four today to progress into the semi-finals with a time of 2min 32.638sec. 

It was a slow heat in comparison to the rest, however, with Shaoang Liu winning his in 2:26.126. 

Alexander Shulginov of Russia was the fastest qualifier, recording a time of 2:15.899. 

Both brothers also contested the 500m heats, with defending champion Shaoang Liu qualifying in 41.532sec and Shaolin Sándor Liu managing the fastest time of 41.855. 

Suzanne Schulting of The Netherlands recorded the fastest qualifying time in the women's 500m event ©Getty Images
Suzanne Schulting of The Netherlands recorded the fastest qualifying time in the women's 500m event ©Getty Images

Their imperious form continued in the 1000m qualifiers, although Shulginov was once again the quickest skater in 1:26.690.

In the women's 500m heats, world and European champion Suzanne Schulting of The Netherlands dominated as expected, progressing into the quarter-finals in 43.609. 

She also moved on in the 1500m and 1000m but was not among the top contenders, with Natalia Maliszewska of Poland impressing in the latter event with 1:30.975. 

Sofia Prosvirnova of Russia was the fastest in the 1500m with a time of 2:30.566. 

Competition is due to continue tomorrow with the men and women's 1500m and 500m finals.