Malaysia make the cut in Thomas Cup and Uber Cup finals

Kuala Lumpur: Despite losing to India 2-3 and to Thailand 0-3 in the men’s team and women’s team quarter-finals of 2016 Badminton Asia Team Championships last Friday, Malaysia’s men’s and women’s team have qualified on merit for the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals that will be held in Kunshan, China from May 15-22.

At the 2014 edition, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) scrapped the qualifying tournament and the top 16 teams qualified for the finals automatically based on their world ranking.

This year though, other than the defending champions, and the hosts which have already qualified for the finals, other teams have to compete in the five continental team championships that serve as the qualifying round for the competing countries to vie for a slot in the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals. Continental winners are guaranteed spots in the finals, as are the semi-finalists of the continental championships of Asia and Europe. The remaining places will be taken by teams based on their world ranking of 3 March 2016.

Based on 23 February 2016 world rankings released by BWF, Malaysia’s men’s and women’s team were ranked No. 6 and No. 10 in their respective categories. With no major tournaments held between this week and next week, it’s safe to assume a relatively stable World rankings for all the teams by March 3.

Table below lists countries that will make it to the 2016 Thomas Cup and Uber Cup finals: