The Indian badminton teams were placed in challenging groups during the Thomas & Uber Cup 2026 draw, which was held in Denmark on Wednesday.
The upcoming Thomas & Uber Cup will be held from April 24 to May 3 at the Forum Horsens Arena in Denmark.
The Indian men’s badminton team, who won the 2022 edition of the Thomas Cup, have been placed in Group A alongside defending champions the People’s Republic of China, Canada and Australia for the upcoming edition of the tournament.
Indonesia – the runners-up from the previous edition and the most successful team in Thomas Cup history with 14 titles – are placed in Group D along with France, Thailand and Algeria.
India’s only Thomas Cup triumph in 2022 came after they had famously defeated Indonesia 3-0 in the final at Bangkok, Thailand.
Paris 2024 semi-finalist Lakshya Sen, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty won their respective matches to hand India a clean sweep against Indonesia en route to the famous win.
India secured qualification for the Thomas Cup 2026 courtesy of their position in the BWF men’s team world badminton rankings, which were finalised after the Badminton Asia Team Championships.
Thomas Cup 2026 groups
- Group A: China, India, Canada, Australia
- Group B: Japan, Malaysia, England, Finland
- Group C: Chinese Taipei, Denmark, Republic of Korea, Sweden
- Group D: Indonesia, France, Thailand, Algeria
The Indian women’s badminton team, meanwhile, was drawn in Group A for the Uber Cup 2026 alongside defending champions and record 16-time winners China.
Joining India and China in Group A of the 2026 Uber Cup are hosts Denmark and Ukraine.
India qualified for the 2026 Uber Cup through their team world ranking, securing one of the berths allocated to the highest-ranked teams not already qualified via continental championships.
The Indian team’s best finishes at the Uber Cup came in the 2014 and 2016 editions of the tournament, when they finished third.
Uber Cup 2026 groups
- Group A: China, India, Denmark, Ukraine
- Group B: Japan, Malaysia, Turkiye, South Africa
- Group C: Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Canada, Australia
- Group D: South Korea, Thailand, Bulgaria, Spain
While the Thomas Cup is the world badminton team championship for men, the Uber Cup is the women’s version.
The upcoming Thomas Cup will mark the 34th edition of the tournament, while the Uber Cup returns for its 31st staging.
As many as 16 teams will be competing in each tournament and were divided into four groups of four sides each.
Teams in each group will play each other in ties consisting five matches – three singles and two doubles. The top two nations from each group will advance to the quarter-finals.
In the last edition of the Thomas & Uber Cup hosted in Chengdu in 2024, the Indian men’s team lost to eventual winners China in the quarter-finals, while the women were also ousted in the quarters by Japan.
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/thomas-and-uber-cup-2026-badminton-draw-india-men-women
