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Belarus advance to qualifying round at World Ice Hockey Championship

Belarus kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs at the World Ice Hockey Championship in Canada after defeating France 3-1 on Wednesday, BelaPAN said.

The hard-fought win allowed Team Belarus to progress into the qualifying round of the tournament and avoid a relegation battle against Italy despite earlier defeats at the hands of Sweden and Switzerland.

Belarus play Russia, the Czech Republic and Denmark in the qualifying round and will need at least two wins to get into the top eight.

Belarus advanced to the quarterfinal stage at the 2006 World Championship, their highest-achievement ever, but finished the following tournament outside the top eight, recording only one win and five defeats.