Mumbai: The Indian badminton team has been clubbed together with Indonesia, Denmark and England in Group D for the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2025 to be played in Xiamen, China, from April 27 to May 4, as per the draw announced on Thursday.
In all, 16 teams will be in the fray for the 19th edition of the Sudirman Cup. Four seeded teams were placed in separate groups during the draw, with defending champions and hosts China being the top seeds in Group A
Host China, also the defending champion, is placed in Group A, along with Thailand, Hong Kong-China, and Algeria, while South Korea will take on Chinese Taipei, Canada, and the Czech Republic in Group B. Group C includes Japan, Malaysia, France, and Australia, while Indonesia will face Denmark, India, and England in Group D.
The Indian badminton team’s best results in the Sudirman Cup came in 2011 and 2017 when they reached the quarterfinals. In the last edition, India were eliminated in the group stage after losing to Malaysia and Chinese Taipei.
The Sudirman Cup, organised by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), is an international mixed-team badminton competition held biennially. Every tie in the Sudirman Cup consists of five matches – men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.
The biennial international badminton event will be hosted in Xiamen, in southeast China’s Fujian province. China is the most successful team in the tournament with a total of 13 Sudirman Cup titles.
The competing teams include defending champions, tournament hosts, and top-performing sides from the Asian and European mixed team Continental Championships. India qualified for the Sudirman Cup 2025 based on their rankings. Winners from the mixed team Continental Championships of Africa, Oceania, and Pan America also earned spots in the Sudirman Cup 2025.
The Groupings:
Group A: China, Hong Kong-China, Thailand, Algeria
Group B: South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Canada, Czechia
Group C: Japan, Malaysia, France, Australia
Group D: India, Indonesia, Denmark, England
(IANS)
