KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — Malaysia will have a mountain to climb in the Sudirman Cup competition scheduled from May 19 to 26 in Nanning, China.
According to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in a statement, Malaysia were drawn in Group 1D with 10 times winner, China and India.
Malaysia have only made the semi-finals once that is in 2009 and in the 2015 edition, they were knocked out by South Korea in the quarter-finals.
The host nation which was seeded second, will be favourites to top Group 1D, while top seeds Japan, who are in search of their first Sudirman Cup title, are in Group 1A with Thailand and Russia.
Meanwhile Indonesia, winners of the first tournament in 1989, will be wary of Denmark and England in Group 1B and the defending champions, South Korea will also expect a challenge from Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong in Group 1C.
The draw for the 31 participating teams, which are divided into four groups based on team rankings, was conducted in Nanning today by BWF in the presence of officials from Chinese Badminton Association (CBA), officials of the host city, sponsors and media.
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 Sudirman Cup draw:
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 — Bernama
