International Tournament Update: Thomas & Uber Cup 2021
The Badminton World Federation, the governing body of badminton, on Wednesday, the 18th of August 2021 announced the draws for this year's Thomas and Uber Cup.
This event will be held between the 9th to 17th October in Aarhus, Denmark. The Thomas and Uber cup finals return to the European circuit for the first time since 1982.
The Thomas Cup or world men's team championships was first staged in 1948-49, and the Uber Cup or women's world team championships was added for the first time in 1956-57. In the beginning, these events took place every three years, and these were badminton’s first major international tournaments. Starting in 1984, the format of these events was revised and to be held concurrently every two years, not three. Ties at all stages of the tournament were trimmed down from nine matches to five. Team lineups consist of three singles players and two doubles teams. A total of 16 countries participate in this event.
China has been the most successful team in the biennial event. They have won the event fourteen times, followed by Japan having won six times. Indonesia and the United States tie for the third spot with three cups.
The Thomas and Uber cups were last held in 2018, and as per the revised regulations, these events were scheduled for August 2020. The BWF was forced to postpone the cup finals as countries like Australia, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea withdrew from the competition due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Indian men’s team on Wednesday were handed a relatively comfortable draw. They are clubbed with the defending champions China along with Netherlands and Tahiti in Group C. Whereas the Indian Women’s team have been placed in Group B alongside Spain, Scotland, and previous edition runner-up Thailand.
The Indian men’s team has never been able to clinch a medal at this prestigious event. The women’s team has been successful on two occasions, 2014 and 2016, winning bronze.
Finland is set to host Sudirman Cup, the world mixed badminton team championships from 26th September to 03rd October.