Thomas, Uber Cup boast record entries<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The 2002 Thomas and Uber Cups, the world's longest-established
\nbadminton competitions, boast a record number of entries with 102
\nteams, the International Badminton Federation (IBF) announced
\nrecently.<\/p>\n
A total of 48 teams have entered the Uber Cup women's world
\nteam championships across the three qualifying zones in Cuba,
\nAustralia and the Netherlands - one better than competed in the
\n2000 event -- and, not to be outdone with 54 teams set to play,
\nthe Thomas Cup men's event will see its highest level of interest
\nsince 1996.<\/p>\n
Most of the major badminton nations will compete in the
\nqualifying rounds of the team events in a bid to qualify for the
\nfinal stage, to be held in Guangzhou, China from May 9 to May 19,
\npending IBF final confirmation.<\/p>\n
In the Thomas Cup, six teams (three from Eindhoven and three
\nfrom Melbourne) will be hoping to join host China and cupholder
\nIndonesia, while China, as host and holder of the Uber Cup, will
\nbe joined by seven qualifying teams -- three from Eindhoven and
\nfour from Melbourne.<\/p>\n
Teams can choose to start their qualifying campaigns in any of
\nthe available venues -- usually they choose the venue closest to
\nthem geographically, but looking at the 2002 entry list there are
\nsome surprises.<\/p>\n
As expected, badminton strongholds Malaysia, Indonesia and
\nKorea will play in Australia, while Denmark, England, Sweden and
\nGermany are among the teams hopeful of success at the European
\nvenue.<\/p>\n
But India has opted to play at the Eindhoven venue instead of
\njoining most of its Asian counterparts in Melbourne, and
\nsimilarly, New Zealand has shunned its neighbors and will travel
\nnearly 18,000 km to the Netherlands instead of hopping across the
\nTasman Sea to Melbourne.<\/p>\n
Canada, Peru and Brazil all consider their interests are best
\nserved in Eindhoven, rather than attending the Pan-Am First Stage
\nin Cuba.<\/p>\n
The group draws for the Australia and Eindhoven venues will be
\nmade no later than six weeks before the events commence, in line
\nwith IBF regulations, and teams have until just two weeks before
\nthe competitions to name their squads.<\/p>\n
The last Thomas and Uber Cups finals were held in Kuala
\nLumpur, with Indonesia winning a record 12th Thomas Cup trophy
\nand China retaining the Uber Cup.<\/p>\n
In the past, the Thomas and Uber Cups were four-yearly events,
\nwhich were held two years after one another. But the IBF changed
\nthe two tournaments into biennial events and brought them
\ntogether to the same venue in 1990.<\/p>",
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