India, who stunned Indonesia 3-0 in the final of the last edition in Bangkok, were placed in a tricky group overall alongside the serial winners, to go with Thailand and England.
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For Uber Cup, a young squad likely to be led by PV Sindhu will have to contend with the competition’s most successful side as well, just like the men, as they are drawn with China.
The Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2024 (the World Men’s and Women’s Team Championships respectively) will be held from April 27 to May 5, at Hi-Tech Zone Sports Centre Gymnasium, Chengdu, China.
For the Indian men though, difficult as the group is on paper, there is once again enviable depth in their squad. The final selections are yet to be confirmed, and there appears to be no room in the calendar for a trial like last time. But with a fair assumption that India would want to send their strongest possible squad to defend the title, the trickiest question is regarding the third singles slot.
While HS Prannoy has not had the best of starts to 2024, he will be raring to go as India’s potential first singles player. It will be a complete role reversal for him as one of India’s strong suits in their run to the title was having a player of Prannoy’s quality play the third singles last time around. The rankings have of course changed in the last two years, meaning Prannoy will be followed by Lakshya Sen, who has hit form at the right time. Against most countries, India’s first two singles slots should pose a solid threat.
Indeed, India’s main weapon – an integral part of the triumph in Bangkok – is the red-hot pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. On their day, the world No 1 can beat anyone in the world as we have seen in their run to three finals in four World Tour events at the start of 2024.
The second doubles spot, however, remains a worry. MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila haven’t hit any sort of reasonable form since the last edition, mostly troubled by injuries, and there is no viable option. This could mean teams might split up their top pairs to almost forego the first doubles tie and focus on pocketing a relatively easier point in MD2.
The trickiest selection for India, however, is the third singles spot. Priyanshu Rajawat and Srikanth Kidambi are likely to be in contention, and while both are capable of holding their own there, it will be interesting to see if the think-tank back the experience of the veteran (who was unbeaten in Bangkok) or the talent of the youngster.
While all eyes will be on India vs Indonesia in a clash that will likely decide the group-toppers, Thailand will pose a tough challenge, and won’t be easy to overcome. It is worth noting though that India did manage to go all the way last time despite not topping their group.
For Uber Cup, the Chen Yufei-led singles contingent and a supremely doubles-strong Chinese women’s team will be overwhelming favourites for the title at home, let alone topping the group. But Indian women did show sparks of brilliance at the recent Badminton Asia Team Championships in Shah Alam, Malaysia. While some of the teams had not sent their strongest squads, Sindhu-led India ended up going all the way with some famous wins, especially for the up-and-coming Anmol Kharb.
Canada and Singapore pose some interesting tests, with the likes of Michelle Li and Yeo Jia Min capable of their moments of brilliance but India’s relative depth in the squad – with the emergence of two really good doubles pairs – should help them finish in the top two and enter the knockouts. From there on, any of the top teams will pose a significant hurdle on their path to the podium.
Scroll down to check all the recap
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw: Wrapping up...
The TUC Finals 2024 draw was conducted in host city Chengdu, China earlier today.
Defending men's champions India, who won the Thomas Cup for the first time in 2022, were drawn alongside 14-time champions Indonesia, Thailand and England in Group C.
Hosts China, the second most successful team with 10 titles, will be challenged by Korea, Canada and Australia in Group A.
In the Uber Cup, 15-time champions China will seek to avoid early surprises from continental champions India, as well as Canada and Singapore.
Uber Cup defending champions Korea, who are searching for their third title, are in Group D with Denmark, USA, and Mexico.
The 33rd edition of the Men's Team World Championships and 30th edition of the Women's Team World Championships will be held from 27 April to 5 May 2024.
Thanks for joining us on today's blog.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw: One final 2022 throwback, to a long-read by Shivani Naik on India's star doubles duo
‘Need a good heart to play doubles’: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy reflects on his Thomas Cup-winning pairing with Chirag Shetty
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw: Remarkable coincidence
All attwntion on India drawing Indonesia in the group of death. But here's a fascinating statistic.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw: Replug for Tushar Bhaduri's appreciation for India's Thomas Cup win in 2022.
For a long time, badminton in India revolved around two names – Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu. The two female protagonists shone on the world stage, also getting on the Olympic podium. But with precious little backup, India often came up short in team competitions.
The male shuttlers, in contrast, have been much less heralded. That is, till Sunday, when they achieved the almost-unthinkable by winning the Thomas Cup – the World Cup of men’s team badminton. Not just any medal, but gold!
Beating badminton royalty Malaysia, Denmark and Indonesia in successive rounds cannot be termed a flash in the pan.
Read more here.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw: Revisiting what coach Gopichand had to say about the Thomas Cup win in 2022.
The most heartening aspect of India’s Thomas Cup team today was watching Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy beat Mohammad Ahsan-Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo. All the previous times that our boys have faced Kevin Sanjaya, they have lost 11-0. It was as individuals. Today, they had Team India backing their efforts, planning and rooting for them. It makes a difference, and this was a first where India played as a unit. Earlier, if Saina was playing, Sindhu wouldn’t be there. And if Sindhu played, Saina wasn’t around. If the doubles team played, the singles players weren’t really invested. This was truly Team India’s victory and I was so happy that Satwik-Chirag gave it back to the Indonesians.
In my mind, I knew this was possible when you do the calculations. But whether it will actually be possible depends on individual players, and today they pulled it off perfectly, which was wonderful to watch. When we speak of Indian team sport at the highest level, this is the real World Cup that India has won in a game spread globally and with fancied powerhouses. I am proud of being a badminton player today. This was coming for years, but things fell into place now. I might even believe in the magic of our players.
P Gopichand writes: ‘This is the real World Cup…proud of team’
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw: A relevant piece to revisit from May 2022. By Shivani Naik
In sport, tomorrow always comes. And it brings both promises and pressures of a brand new title to fight for. India’s victorious Thomas Cup team will be feted, hailed and will go down in the pages of history as path-breakers. But even these pages must turn, for tomorrow always comes. While the youngsters soak in the adulation, India’s two watch-towers — Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand — have immediately called for building more turrets to bolster India’s badminton citadel.
Padukone waited 21 years for his All-England to find an encore, and Gopichand continues to wonder which of the women or men can actually forge ahead and trap down that one. The duo never had the wealth of depth surrounding them to contest for the Thomas Cup at times when Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea and China throbbed with talent. But the two guiding lights have patiently waited through the years for that next big headline to light up the shuttle world. As coaches running successful academies and guiding young talent — some of whom successfully won the world team event on Sunday — the two are wisely calling for urgency to step up efforts to capitalise on this triumph.
Read more here.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw: Here's a recap of the groups
Thomas Cup Finals 2024 groups:
A: China (1), Korea, Canada, Australia
B: Japan, Chinese Taipei, Germany, Czechia
C: Indonesia, India, Thailand, England
D: Denmark (2), Malaysia, Hong Kong China, Algeria
Uber Cup Finals 2024 groups:
A: China (1), India, Canada, Singapore
B: Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Australia
C: Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong China, Uganda
D: Korea (2), Denmark, USA, Mexico
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Tough-looking groups for Indian men and women, then. Here's how things have shaped up
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Thomas Cup (Men World Team Championships) draw
And England join Group C with India, Indonesia and Thailand. The doubles could be interesting, there are no easy teams in this group, really.
A: China (1), Korea, Canada, Australia
B: Japan, Chinese Taipei, Germany, Czechia
C: Indonesia, India, Thailand, England
D: Denmark (2), Malaysia, Hong Kong China, Algeria
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Thomas Cup (Men World Team Championships) draw
And it gets trickier for India. Thailand are not the easiest team from Pot 3 and their doubles can be tricky to deal with. Of course they are with India now. But Group D is perhaps the toughest as it is shaping up.
A: China (1), Korea, Canada
B: Japan, Chinese Taipei, Germany
C: Indonesia, India, Thailand
D: Denmark (2), Malaysia, Hong Kong China
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Thomas Cup (Men World Team Championships) draw
Pot 2 now and right away, it is India. Well, well, well. There we go. A repeat of last year's final right away between India and Indonesia. Malaysia into D2 and that is a fascinating group already.
A: China (1), Korea
B: Japan, Chinese Taipei
C: Indonesia, India,
D: Denmark (2), Malaysia
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Thomas Cup (Men World Team Championships) draw
Indonesia are a tough one too, they take up C1. Japan take up B1. Really, come to think of it, none of the four are "easy" opponents but perhaps India wouldn't mind Group B or D.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Thomas Cup (Men World Team Championships) draw
As with Uber Cup, China are the top seeds and will take up A1. Denmark are second seeds and go to D1. Both groups India would like to avoid, for starters.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Thomas Cup (Men World Team Championships) draw
It's time to find out where the defending champions India will go for their Thomas Cup group. First up, a look at the seeds.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Uber Cup (Women World Team Championships) draw
Here's how the final group standings look for Uber Cup.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Uber Cup (Women World Team Championships) draw
Time for Pot 4. Singapore are a team to avoid here. Australia first up, go to Group B. Mexico to Group D. And of course, Singapore get into Group A. That's not the easiest of groups for India. Uganda into C.
A: China (1), India, Canada, Singapore
B: Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Australia
C: Japan, Indonesia, Hong kong China, Uganda
D: Korea (2), Denmark, USA, Mexico
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Uber Cup (Women World Team Championships) draw
Time for Pot 3. Hong Kong China go to C, Malaysia to B, Canada to A along with China and India, which puts USA in Group D.
A: China (1), India, Canada,
B: Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia,
C: Japan, Indonesia, Hong kong China,
D: Korea (2), Denmark, USA
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Uber Cup (Women World Team Championships) draw
A: China (1), India
B: Thailand, Chinese Taipei
C: Japan, Indonesia
D: Korea (2), Denmark
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Uber Cup (Women World Team Championships) draw
C2 goes to Indonesia, D2 goes to Denmark, B2 goes to Chinese Taipei. So that means A2 is going to be India in Group A along with China. Well, there goes a possibly kind draw.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Uber Cup (Women's World Team C'ships) draw
Japan and Thailand will be drawn at the top of the remaining two groups. First up, Akane Yamaguchi and Co go into C1 position. That means Thailand will go to B1. (Group B wouldn't be the worst of options for teams in Pot 2).
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Uber Cup (Women's World Team C'ships) draw
As laid out by BWF, China will be A1 as the top seeds. Defending champs Korea will be D1.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Uber Cup draw
Here are the seedings. The top 2 seeds are China and Korea respectively. They will be placed top of Groups A & D.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: There have been some late changes to the team lists,
Uganda and Mexico will make their Uber Cup debuts at the BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2024 in Chengdu, China following the withdrawals of South Africa and Spain.
The additional withdrawals of France and Scotland from the Uber Cup (replaced by Hong Kong China and Singapore) and France from the Thomas Cup (replaced by fellow first-timers Czechia) completes the updated list of qualifiers from the original 32.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: The Uber Cup draw should start any minute
Indian women's team qualified for the Uber Cup finals once they reached the semifinals at the Badminton Asia Team Championships this year. But they didn't stop there, they went on to win the whole thing. Who can forget Anmol Kharb's superb tournament in Shah Alam?
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Did you know the story behind the names of Thomas and Uber Cups?
The Thomas Cup is the elegant trophy awarded for the World Men’s Team Championships. Its name honours Sir George Thomas, legendary Founder President of the International Badminton Federation (now BWF), who was keen that badminton should have its own version of the Davis Cup in tennis. Overall, Indonesia lead the tally with 14 titles; China are second with 10. India are the latest entrants to the list of world champions.
The World Women’s Team Championships was proposed in 1950 by England’s great pre-War player Betty Uber (supported by New Zealand’s Nancy Fleming), and eventually came into being in 1956-57. The trophy, whose name honours Betty Uber who donated and designed the trophy. China were utterly dominant from 1984 to 2016, when they won 14 of the 17 editions. South Korea are the defending champions.
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates:
Throwback to the moments when the Indian men assured themselves of their first ever Thomas Cup medal. They went on to win gold of course
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Sindhu stunned by a 17yo in Basel
The moment their first-round matches were completed at the Swiss Open in Basel, there was a sense of anticipation around PV Sindhu’s round-of-16 fixture.
A clash of generations was on the cards. Tomoka Miyazaki, the 17-year-old from Osaka in Japan, has been on the rise in the last couple of years. Against a former World Champion in Sindhu, the teenager faced one of her biggest tests at the senior level yet.
And boy did the 5ft 5in stand tall and ace it.
Meet Tomoka Miyazaki, former world junior champ set for a bright future
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Some reading from the Swiss Open.
Priyanshu Rajawat has been like a blur on the badminton courts of Basel these last two days.
Picked out by Pullela Gopichand from the Madhya Pradesh state badminton academy at Gwalior well before he turned 10, and solely for his foot and hand speed, the 22-year-old from Dhar is making his sheer pace count. On Thursday, he packed off Chinese Lan Xi Lei 21-14, 21-13 to make the Swiss Open quarterfinals. But the youngster, known for his conventional stick smashes, has been increasingly using the cross-angles on the backhand, with whiplash speed, to hurry opponents.
Swiss Open badminton: Priyanshu Rajawat uses his phenomenal pace to seal quarters berth
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: As we wait for the draws, how about reliving the 2022 Thomas Cup final between India and Indonesia?
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Here is a look at the 16 teams in fray for Uber Cup
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Here is a look at the 16 teams in fray for Thomas Cup
BWF Thomas & Uber Cup 2024 Draw Live Updates: Hello!
Hello all, it's time to find out who India's men and women's team will face in the group stage of the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2024. The draw for Uber Cup will be first, followed by Thomas Cup where India are the defending champions.