New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) The Indian men and women teams have been handed a decent draw in the group stages of the 2026 Thomas and Uber Cup badminton team championships to be held in Horsens, Denmark, from April 24 to May 3.
Both the Indian teams, seeded eighth in the tournament based on their individual players’ world rankings, have been clubbed in Group A alongside defending champions and top seeds China.
The 2022 Thomas Cup champions, India, will be favourites to claim one of the two quarterfinal spots from Group A, which also comprises Pan Am champions Canada and Oceania champions Australia.
The women’s team, however, has a slightly tricky road to the knockout stages, as they are clubbed with European team championship runners-up Denmark and bronze medallists Ukraine.
“We have got a decent draw and a chance to reach the quarterfinals in both the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup competitions. We have a strong team that has proved that they can beat any top team on their day, and after reaching the quarterfinals, anything is possible,” said BAI secretary general Sanjay Mishra while responding to the draw for the prestigious team championships.
While the Indian men created history by winning the 2022 edition of the Thomas Cup, the women’s team won the bronze medal in the 2014 and 2016 editions.
The upcoming Thomas Cup will mark the 34th edition of the tournament, while the Uber Cup returns for its 31st edition. As many as 16 teams will be competing in each tournament and will be divided into four groups of four teams each.
Teams in each group will play each other in ties consisting of five matches – three singles and two doubles. The top two nations from each group will advance to the quarter-finals.
In the last edition of the Thomas & Uber Cup hosted in Chengdu in 2024, the Indian men’s team lost to eventual winners China in the quarter-finals, while the women were also ousted in the quarters by Japan.
Indonesia are the most successful team in the Thomas Cup with 14 titles, while China are the most successful team in the Uber Cup with 16 titles.
Thomas Cup groups:
Group A: China, India, Canada, Australia
Group B: Japan, Malaysia, England, Finland
Group C: Chinese Taipei, Denmark, Republic of Korea, Sweden
Group D: Indonesia, France, Thailand, Algeria
Uber Cup groups:
Group A: China, India, Denmark, Ukraine
Group B: Japan, Malaysia, Turkiye, South Africa
Group C: Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Canada, Australia
Group D: South Korea, Thailand, Bulgaria, Spain
–IANS
bc/bsk/