Drinkhall stars as England's men earn Euro promotion

ENGLAND'S table tennis men have returned to the Europe's top flight for the first time in ten years.

STAR MAN: Paul Drinkhall enjoyed a solid week, winning eight of his 11 team matches in Stuttgart (Getty Images)

Teenagers Paul Drinkhall, Darius Knight and Danny Reed combined to move England into the top 20, thanks to a victory over Italy in the team competition at the European Championships in Stuttgart.

British number one Drinkhall was the star performer, although Knight is enduring a disappointing run - winning just one of his six matches.

However, the women's team of Joanna Parker, Kelly Sibley and Hannah Hicks failed to earn promotion - ranking 21st despite wins against Bulgaria and Belgium.

Germany will play Denmark for the men's title while Holland take on Poland in the women's final.

Drinkhall, a triple European junior champion, will play either Slovenia's Mitja Horvat or Holland's Michel De Boer in the second round of the singles.