India were drawn with Malaysia and Chinese Taipei in Group C of the Sudirman Cup Finals 2023 to be held in Suzhou from May 14 to 21. The fourth team in India’s group is Australia.
Continental champions China, Denmark, Canada, Australia and Egypt are among the 16 teams that will do battle at the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2023.
Here’s how the four groups look:
Group A: China, Denmark, Singapore, Egypt
Group B: Indonesia, Thailand, Germany, Canada
Group C: Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, India, Australia
Group D: Japan, Korea, France, England
The Sudirman Cup is the BWF World Mixed Team Championships which takes place every two years. Like the Thomas Cup for men’s team and Uber Cup for women’s team, this is the pinnacle for testing all-round strength in mixed team events. There are five matches in every tie: Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles.
China (Asian champions), Denmark (European champions), Canada (Pan Am winners), Australia (Oceania winners) and Egypt (African champions) qualified for this edition of the World Mixed Team Championships, along with the three other semifinalists from Asia and Europe. Korea, India and Thailand (semifinalists in Asia) and France, England and Germany (semifinalists in Europe) made it on the back of the top four finishes.
The rest of the 16 qualifiers — Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei and Singapore — took their spots based on team ranking (cumulative ranking points of their top players in each of the five categories).
China will be looking for a record-extending 13th title. Indonesia won the title in the inaugural year 1989, and four-time winners Korea captured the title in 1991, 1993, 2003 and 2017. China will once again be overwhelming favourites in their home event.
Here are the 16 teams in the fray with seeding and how they qualified:
1 – China (Asian Champions)
2 – Japan (Ranking)
3/4 – Indonesia (Ranking)
3/4 – Malaysia (Ranking)
5/8 – Thailand (Asian Semifinalists)
5/8 – Korea (Asian Semifinalists)
5/8 – Denmark (European Champions)
5/8 – Chinese Taipei (Ranking)
9/12 – India (Asian Semifinalists)
9/12 – Singapore (Ranking)
9/12 – Germany (European Semifinalists)
9/12 – France (European Semifinalists)
13/16 – Canada (Pan Am Champions)
13/16 – England (European Semifinalists)
13/16 – Australia (Oceania Champions)
13/16 – Egypt (African Champions)