THOMAS CUP & UBER CUP FINALS 2010: China gets Korea in Thomas Cup
News 2:47 PM
Defending champions China will face an early test of their title credentials when they were drawn with Korea in Group A while all three European representatives – Denmark, Germany and Poland – were drawn together in Group C of the Thomas Cup at the draw ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
In the Uber Cup, hosts Malaysia were drawn with defending champions China and United States, a draw that puts the home side in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals.
The draw, witnessed by Deputy Referee Chua Soo Hock, was conducted by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Also present at the draw ceremony were BWF Secretary General Stuart Borrie and Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) Honorary Secretary Ganga Rao. 
The Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals will be hosted by the BAM at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil from 9 to 16 May.
Twelve teams have qualified for the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup Finals and this year’s edition will see a revised format used for the competition.
In the two-stage, two-draw format, only the top two teams from each group will progress to the knock-out stage – the quarterfinals. Previously all three teams from each group (four groups) progressed to the next stage.
At the knock-out stage, a fresh draw will be held to decide the ties.
“Whilst we (Malaysia) are favourites to qualify for the knock-out stage, we should be wary of the threat posed by Japan who have shown a lot of improvement of late,” said Ganga.
“That goes to teams like India and Germany as well. These teams have shown a steady improvement. Nevertheless, the favourites for the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup will be China.”
Besides Malaysia and Japan, the third team in Group B is Nigeria – the African champions.
While Malaysia’s title hopes, who last won the Thomas Cup in 1992, will lie squarely on the shoulders of Lee Chong Wei and the doubles pair of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, China will be able to rely on the likes of world champion Lin Dan, World Championships silver medallist Chen Jin and Bao Chunlai.
China have also established two strong doubles pairs with Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan-Chai Biao in good form.
Indonesia, the No 2 seeds in the Thomas Cup, will rely on former world and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat, Sony Dwi kuncoro and Simon Santoso in the singles and Markis Kido-Hendra Setiawan, the reigning Olympic champions in the doubles.
On paper, China look to be the strongest bet for the Uber Cup with players like Wang Yihan, Wang Lin, Wang Xin and Lu Lan looking too strong for the other players.
“It is good that Malaysia is drawn in the same group as China. The (Malaysian) players should accept it as a challenge and play their best,” said Ganga.
“In fact, it is good to play China early in the competition. All we have to do is beat the United States and we will be in the last eight.”
Thomas Cup:
Group A: China, Korea, Peru; Group B: Malaysia, Japan, Nigeria; Group C: Denmark, Germany, Poland; Group D: Indonesia, India, Australia.
Uber Cup:
Group A: China, Malaysia, USA; Group B: Indonesia, Denmark, Australia: Group C: Japan, Russia, Germany; Group D: Korea, India, South Africa.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 2:47 PM.
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