Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia has been placed in Group D in both Thomas Cup as well as Uber Cup finals that will be held in Bangkok from May 20-27. The drawing was completed in Bangkok on Thursday.
The Malaysian men’s team has been drawn together with defending champions Denmark, alongside Russia and Algeria, while the badminton powerhouse China and Indonesia will be the main obstacles for Malaysian women’s team. The Malaysian women’s team should register at least a win against France in the group stage.
The France’s women qualified for the Uber Cup Finals 2018 due to the withdrawal of Spain after the Spain team suffered injuries problems on several of its key players.
Meanwhile, England’s Thomas Cup team’s withdrawal allowed Hong Kong to join Chinese Taipei, Japan, Germany in the Group C men’s team competition.
The top two finishers from each group will advance to the quarter-finals or the knockout stage.
Below is the final draw:
Thomas Cup:
GROUP A: (1) China, India, France, Australia
GROUP B: (3/4) Indonesia, Canada, South Korea, Thailand
GROUP C: (5/8) Japan, Chinese Taipei, Germany, Hong Kong
GROUP D: (2) Denmark, Malaysia, Russia, Algeria
Uber Cup:
GROUP A: (1) Japan, India, Canada, Australia
GROUP B: (5/8) Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Germany, Hong Kong
GROUP C: (3/4) South Korea, Denmark, Russia, Mauritius
GROUP D: (2) China, Indonesia, (9/16) Malaysia, France