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BWF Thomas and Uber Cup 2024 Draw Highlights: The group stage of the 2024 Thomas Cup Finals will witness a rematch of the 2022 edition’s title clash immediately as defending champions India and the tournament’s most successful team Indonesia face off in Group C in Chengdu, China, on Friday.
India, who shocked Indonesia 3-0 in the final of the last edition in Bangkok, were placed in a tough group along with the serial winners, along with Thailand and England.
For the Uber Cup, a young team likely led by PV Sindhu will also have to compete with the most successful team in the competition, as will the men, as they are tied with China.
The 2024 Thomas & Uber Cup finals (the men’s and women’s world team championships respectively) will take place from April 27 to May 5 at the Hi-Tech Zone sports center gym in Chengdu, China.
However, for the Indians, although the group is difficult on paper, there is once again enviable depth in their team. The final selections have not yet been confirmed and there does not appear to be room in the calendar for a test like last time. But assuming India would want to send its strongest possible team to defend the title, the trickier question is that of third place in singles.
While HS Prannoy hasn’t had the best start until 2024, he will be eager to become India’s potential first singles player. It will be a complete role reversal for him as one of India’s strengths in their title run was having a player of Prannoy’s quality play the third singles match last time. Of course, the rankings have changed in the last two years, which means Prannoy will be followed by Lakshya Sen, who has come into his form at the right time. Against most countries, India’s top two individual rankings should present a solid threat.
In fact, India’s main weapon – an integral part of the triumph in Bangkok – is the hot couple of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. On his day, the world number one can beat anyone in the world, as we have seen in his run to three finishes in four World Tour events in early 2024.
Second place in doubles, however, remains a concern. MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila have not achieved any sort of reasonable form since the last edition, mainly affected by injuries, and there is no viable option. This could mean that teams could split their best pairings to almost forego the first doubles tie and focus on bagging a relatively easier point on the second round.
The most difficult selection for India, however, is the third place in singles. Priyanshu Rajawat and Srikanth Kidambi are likely to be in contention, and while both are capable of holding their own there, it will be interesting to see if the think tank backs the veteran’s experience (who was unbeaten in Bangkok) or talent. of the young man.
While all eyes will be on India vs Indonesia in a clash that will likely decide who will top the group, Thailand will pose a tough challenge and will not be easy to overcome. However, it is worth noting that India managed to go all the way last time despite not topping their group.
For the Uber Cup, the singles contingent led by Chen Yufei and an extremely strong Chinese women’s doubles team will be the heavy favorites for the home title, let alone topping the group. But Indian women did show sparks of brilliance at the recent Asian Badminton Team Championships in Shah Alam, Malaysia. While some of the teams had not fielded their strongest squads, Sindhu-led India ended up going all the way with some famous wins, especially for the promising Anmol Kharb.
Canada and Singapore pose some interesting tests, with players like Michelle Li and Yeo Jia Min capable of having their moments of brilliance, but India’s relative depth in the team (with the emergence of two really good doubles pairs) should help them finish between the first two. and enter the knockouts. From there, any of the top teams will be a major obstacle on their way to the podium.
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