India grouped with Indonesia in Thomas Cup

ByArun S Kaimal,SportsCafe Editor

03/21/2016

The Indian men’s badminton team will have a tough job on their hands in the 2016 Thomas Cup after drawing Asian Badminton Team Championship winner Indonesia in Group B. The women’s team will also find it tough after drawing second seeds Japan in the Group D of 2016 Uber Cup.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Monday completed the draw for the BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2016 at Kunshan, China, where the tournament will be held from May 15 to 22 this year. India hosted the last edition of the tournament in 2014 and was knocked in the group stages in the Thomas Cup, while the Indian women’s team won the bronze in the Uber Cup.

In the Thomas Cup, India have been paired in Group B along with Asian Badminton Team Championship winner Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong China. India qualified for the tournament after finishing third in the Asian Badminton Team Championship at Hyderabad in February after losing to eventual winners Indonesia in the semi-final.

Although the Indian women’s team were ousted in the quarter-final of the Asian Badminton Team Championship by South Korea, they made it to the Uber Cup after eventual winners China qualified as hosts. India are in Group D along with second seeds Japan, who beat them in the semi-final last time around. Australia and Germany are the other two teams in the group.

The final round of the 2016 Thomas and Uber Cup will consist of a group stage followed by knockout. The top two teams in each group will make it to the knockout stage. There will be another draw for the quarter-finals.

Complete draw:

THOMAS CUP:

Group A: China, Japan, France, Mexico

Group B: Indonesia, India, Thailand, Hong Kong China

Group C: Korea, Malaysia, England, Germany

Group D: Denmark, Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, South Africa

UBER CUP:

Group A: China, Denmark, Spain, Malaysia

Group B: Korea, Chinese Taipei, Mauritius, USA

Group C: Thailand, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Hong Kong China

Group D: Japan, India, Australia, Germany