New Delhi: The Indian men’s and women’s teams were handed a challenging draw alongside defending champions China on Wednesday for the 2026 Thomas and Uber Cup, to be held in Horsens, Denmark, from April 24 to May 3.
Both the Indian teams are seeded eighth in the tournament based on their individual players world rankings. The draw was announced by Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Wednesday.
The 2022 Thomas Cup champions India will be favourites to claim one of the two quarterfinals spots from Group A that 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 it is clubbed with European team championships runners up Denmark and bronze medallists Ukraine besides 16-time champions China.
“We have got a decent draw and a chance to reach the quarterfinals in both the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup competition. 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 Badminton Association of India (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 squad has won the bronze medal in 2014 and 2016 editions.
India lost to China in the quarterfinals of the last edition in 2024.
The Indian women bowed out in the quarterfinals after losing to Japan in the previous edition.
China boast of a formidable men’s line-up with Shi Yu Qi (world No. 2) and Li Shi Feng (No. 7), Weng Hong Yang (No. 17) and Lu Guang Zu (No. 18) in their ranks.
India however, will draw confidence from Lakshya Sen’s recent form as the Paris Olympic semi-finalist stunned Feng en route to a runner-up finish at the All-England Championships earlier this month.
India created history in 2022 by winning their maiden Thomas Cup title in Bangkok, becoming only the sixth nation to lift the trophy after a 3-0 win over 14-time champions Indonesia in the final.
India qualified for the 2026 Thomas Cup through their position in the BWF men’s team rankings following the Badminton Asia Team Championships.
The women’s team also secured their Uber Cup berth via the world rankings.
A total of 16 teams — divided into four groups of four — will play round robin league with each tie consisting of five matches (three singles and two doubles).
The top two teams from each group will make the quarter-finals.
Thomas Cup Draw
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Group A: China, India, Canada, Australia; Group B: Japan, Malaysia, England, Finland; Group C: Chinese Taipei, Denmark, Korea, Sweden; Group D: Indonesia, France, Thailand, Algeria.
Uber Cup Draw
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Group A: China, India, Denmark, Ukraine; Group B: Japan, Malaysia, Turkey, South Africa; Group C: Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Canada, Australia; Group D: Korea, Thailand, Bulgaria, Spain.
