Kuala Lumpur: The 2021 Sudirman Cup will be held in Vantaa, Finland, from 26, September 2021 to 3, October 2021.
Countries competing at the prestigious mixed team competition knew whom they would face after Wednesday’s draw for all 16 teams was completed.
Top seeds China, Japan, Indonesia, and Chinese Taipei all landed reasonably favorable groups, while Malaysia and India dealt potentially trickier routes.
The joint 5 to 8 seed Malaysia was drawn into Group D with second seed Japan, and the joint 9 to 16 seeds England and Egypt.
Meanwhile, the coaching director of the Malaysia Badminton Association (BAM) believed his team has a fair chance to advance to the knockout stage.
“Our roster for the Sudirman, Thomas, and Uber Cups has not been finalized yet. We are currently evaluating their performance,” said Wong.
“Of course, Japan is the toughest team in our group, but we have to also treat England seriously,” added Wong.
The top two nations from each four-team group would advance to the knockout stage.
As for India, it was handed a really tough draw as it was grouped with defending champions China, three-time semi-finalists Thailand and host Finland in Group A of the Sudirman Cup.
The Sudirman Cup is a mixed team event, a total of five matches will be played in every tie: men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. The tournament was named after Dick Sudirman, a former Indonesian badminton player and the founder of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI).
Following is the 2021 Sudirman Cup draw:
Group A: China, Thailand, Finland, India
Group B: Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Tahiti, Germany
Group C: Indonesia, Denmark, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), Canada
Group D: Japan, Malaysia, England, Egypt
