Thomas and Uber Cup: India clubbed with China

Mumbai: 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.