World Team C’ships: Jr shuttlers get easy draw

new delhi: India have got a relatively easy draw in the upcoming World Junior Championships as the second-seeded hosts nation will compete in Group H alongside Hong Kong, Nepal, and Ghana, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced on Friday.

The BWF has released the draw for the Suhandinata Cup (mixed team event) tournament, to be held at the National Centre of Excellence, Amingaon, Guwahati, from October 6 to 11. The prestigious global junior team event returns to India for the first time since 2008 and will feature 37 teams from across the world. The tournament format will see the winner from each group advance to the quarter-finals.

Top seeds Thailand are drawn in Group A with Denmark, Slovenia, and Cook Islands. Defending champions Indonesia are placed in Group C with Türkiye, Romania, and the Netherlands, while 14-time champions China will face Japan, Singapore, Brazil, and Bhutan in Group E. This year a new relay format will be tested in the competition. In the new format there will be best of three sets, where a team reaching 45 points in a relay format wins a set.

A set will have each of men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles matches with the first match ending after one team reaching nine points and the next match will start.