China pursues Thomas & Uber Cup honors in Chengdu

Liu Yuchen (right) and Ou Xuanyi of China compete in the men's doubles first-round match against Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi of Malaysia at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham, England, on March 12, 2024. The Chinese pair won 15-21, 23-21, 21-14. Photo: VCG

A total of 32 elite men's and women's badminton teams from 20 countries and regions across the world will compete for the team world championship titles at the 2024 Thomas & Uber Cup Finals in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, from Saturday to May 5.

This marks the first time that a city in western China will host the Thomas Cup, the world's top badminton team championships for men, and the Uber Cup, the women's division equivalent. The event is also the most important badminton tournament ahead of the Paris Olympic Games in July 2024. 

The event will be held at the Chengdu Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone (CDHT) Sports Center, one of the venues that hosted the Chengdu Universiade in July 2023. Some hi-tech devices have been added to the venue to enhance the quality of the event. 

As the most successful team in Uber Cup history with 15 titles, China aims to reclaim the crown after an agonizing 2-3 loss to South Korea in the finals last time. 

Led by world No.2 Shi Yuqi and No.6 Li Shifeng, the men's team is expected to go further than the last edition of the Thomas Cup in which China were thrashed 0-3 by Indonesia in the quarterfinals. The men's team has won a total of 10 Thomas Cups, second only to Indonesia. 

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals, which will be played as best-of-five individual matches. Three singles and two doubles rubbers are played in each tie, alternating between singles and doubles rubbers.

The performance of women's players at the recent Badminton Asia Championships have boosted China's hopes of regaining the Uber Cup while the men's team faces stern challenges from Denmark and Indonesia on course to the finals, Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Thursday.

At the Asia championships concluded on April 14 in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province, China swept all four spots in the women's singles semi-finals with Wang Zhiyi winning the title after defeating world No.2 Chen Yufei. 

Zhang Jun, chairman of the Chinese Badminton Association, said that since the previous Thomas Cup, the overall strength of the Chinese team has improved. 

However, teams such as India, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea are also progressing. The Chinese team needs to be wary of every opponent and play well in each match starting from the group stage, said Zhang. 

To adjust to the needs of the badminton players, a new lighting system has been installed at the venue and 10 Hawk-Eye cameras have been added to provide instant video replays, enabling match officials to carefully review and make more accurate decisions.

In the players' rest area, two projectors have been installed to meet their needs for watching games, movies, and other leisure entertainment. In addition, the venue has prepared an AI smart fitness mirror for athletes, which will give them an immersive experience for pre-match relaxation and post-match stretching sessions.