New Delhi: India has been drawn alongside 10-time champions China and Malaysia in the Sudirman Cup mixed team badminton championship to be held in Nanning, China from May 19 to 26. India had reached the quarterfinals in the 2011 and 2017 editions, losing to China both times, and it will once again have a tough task in hand to qualify from Group 1D. Top seeds Japan, searching their first Sudirman Cup title, are in Group 1A with Thailand and Russia.
Indonesia, winners of the first tournament in 1989, will be wary of Denmark and England in Group 1B, while defending champions Korea will also expect a challenge from Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong in Group 1C. The top two teams from each sub-group in Group 1 will progress to the quarterfinals and compete for the title. The other 19 teams from Groups 2, 3 and 4 will compete for overall placings. The draw for the 31 participating teams, which are divided into four groups based on team rankings, was conducted in Nanning.
Sudirman Cup is a mixed team badminton championship with each tie featuring all the five formats.
Groupings
Group 1
Group A: Japan, Thailand, Russia
Group B: Indonesia, Denmark, England
Group C: Chinese Taipei, Korea, Hong Kong
Group D: China, India, Malaysia
Group 2
Group A: Netherlands, France, USA, Vietnam
Group B: Germany, Canada, Singapore, Israel
Group 3
Group A: Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal
Group B: Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Slovakia, Lithuania
Group 4
Macau, Greenland, Kazakhstan.
Saina Nehwal pulls out of India Open
HYDERABAD: Saina Nehwal pulled out of the Indian Open BWF World Tour Super 500 which begins here Tuesday, after failing to recover from an acute gastroenteritis problem. Saina, who turned 29 last Monday, had played through pain during the All England Championships after suffering from an acute gastroenteritis and mild pancreatitis ahead of the tournament. She was forced to withdraw from Swiss Open last week and was admitted to hospital for treatment.
On Wednesday, Saina informed Badminton Association of India (BAI) about her decision to withdraw from the US $ 350,000 tournament on medical grounds. “She has not been well since the All England Championship. She sent the letter to withdraw citing stomach pain,” a BAI official told PTI on condition of anonymity. Last week, Saina, who had reached the quarter-finals of the All England Championship, had broken the news that she was advised to get admitted to get treated for her illness.
“So some sad news was really going through acute stomach pain from last Monday… managed to play few matches in All England with lot of pain … decided to skip Swiss open and come back to India and find out the issue,” she had written in her social media account. “… and I found out it’s acute gastroenteritis with mild pancreatitis and the doctors have recommended me to get admitted and hopefully I recover soon out of it.”
