Sudirman Cup 2023: India to begin group campaign against Chinese Taipei

Malaysia and Australia are the other two teams in Group C.

India will play Chinese Taipei in the opening encounter of the Sudirman Cup 2023. A total of 16 countries are set to participate in the prestigious event held biennially. The tournament will be held from 14 May 2023 to 21 May 2023 in Suzhou, China. India qualified for the Sudirman Cup 2023 by reaching the semifinals of the 2023 Asia Mixed Team Badminton Championships held in Dubai, UAE. 

The Indian team are in C alongside Chinese Taipei, Malaysia and Australia. They will begin their campaign against Chinese Taipei on May 14 followed by the clash against Malaysia a day later. India finish the group stage against Australia on May 17.

Participating Nations list

Asia - China, South Korea, India, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore

Europe - Denmark, France, England, Germany

Africa - Egypt

Pan America - Canada

Oceania - Australia

Groups

Group A - China, Denmark, Singapore, Egypt

Group B - Indonesia, Thailand, Germany, Canada

Group C - Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, India, Australia

Group D - Japan, South Korea, France, England

Schedule

14 May 2023 - India vs Chinese Taipei

15 May 2023 - India vs Malaysia

17 May 2023 - India vs Australia

Sudirman Cup 2023 Full Schedule

https://twitter.com/BadmintonJust/status/1645382004974960640?s=20

India’s performance in the past editions 

Sudirman Cup was established in 1989 and is held once every two years (last held in 2021). India’s best performance came in 2011 and 2017 reaching the quarter-finals. The Indian team hasn't progressed beyond the quarter-finals stage and will have its task cut out in the upcoming edition. 

In the previous edition, India entered the competition without star players - PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal and eventually finished 12th out of the 16 teams. They lost to Thailand and China in the group stages but had an easy win against Finland.

Incidentally, India failed to qualify for the 2019 edition of the Sudirman Cup. Top Indian players have had a poor start to the 2023 season with Priyanshu Rajawat being one of the bright spots (winning the title at the Orleans Masters).