Current season, competition or edition: 2023 Sudirman Cup | |
Sport | Badminton |
---|---|
Founded | 1989 |
No. of teams | 16 (finals) |
Countries | BWF member nations |
Most recent champion(s) | China (13th title) |
Most titles | China (13 titles) |
The Sudirman Cup is an international badminton mixed team competition contested by member countries of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1989. It used to be held at the same venue for the World Championships in the same year until the International Badminton Federation (now the BWF) decided to split the two tournaments starting from 2003. [1] There are five matches in every Sudirman Cup tie which consists of men and women's singles, men and women's doubles and mixed doubles. The cup is named after Sudirman, a former Indonesian badminton player. [2] The current champion is China, which won its 13th title at the 2023 tournament in China.
There is no prize money in Sudirman Cup; players play for their respective countries and to earn BWF World Ranking points and national prestige.
The Sudirman Cup stands 80 cm high. It is made of 22 carat (92%) gold-plated solid silver and stands on an octagonal base made of jati wood (Java teak wood). The body of the Cup is in the form of a shuttlecock and is surmounted by a replica of the Borobudur Temple. The handles are in the shape of stamens, symbolising the seeds of badminton.
The Cup was made by Masterix Bandung Company at the price of US$15,000.
Until the 2021 edition, Sudirman Cup was an international competition that does not stage a qualification round. The competing teams are divided into 7 groups based on their performances. Only teams in Group 1 will have a chance to lift the trophy as the teams in other groups fight for promotion. Only six teams compete in Group 1, before it is increased to 8 in 2005 and further increased to 12 teams in 2011. [3] Originally, the teams who finish last in the group were relegated to the lower group for the next edition, except for the last place finishing team in the lowest group. The promotion-relegation system was last used in 2009, and teams competing are now grouped by world rankings. [4]
Starting from 2021 a new 16 team competition format is used, consisting of teams qualified from continental mixed team championships and mixed team ranking. [5] However, due to travel and border restrictions arising from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic affecting the other planned continental team championships, the new format was only able to be fully implemented in 2023 edition.
Indonesia initially won the tournament in 1989. Throughout the history of the tournament, eight countries have reached through to the semifinal round in all tournaments of Sudirman Cup: China, Denmark, England, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan.
China is the most successful national team in the Sudirman Cup (13 victories), followed by Korea (4 victories) and Indonesia (1 victory). The tournament has never been won by a non-Asian country, Denmark is the only European country that came close to winning it, in 1999 and 2011.
Bold text denotes team was host country.
Team | Champions | Runners-up | Semi-finalists | Top 4 total |
---|---|---|---|---|
China | 13 (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023) | 2 (2003, 2017) | 3 (1989, 1991, 1993) | 18 |
South Korea | 4 (1991, 1993, 2003, 2017) | 5 (1989, 1997, 2009, 2013, 2023) | 8 (1995, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2021) | 17 |
Indonesia | 1 (1989) | 6 (1991, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2005, 2007) | 7 (1997, 1999, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019) | 14 |
Japan | — | 3 (2015, 2019, 2021) | 2 (2017, 2023) | 5 |
Denmark | — | 2 (1999, 2011) | 9 (1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2013) | 11 |
Thailand | — | — | 3 (2013, 2017, 2019) | 3 |
Malaysia | — | — | 3 (2009, 2021, 2023) | 3 |
England | — | — | 1 (2007) | 1 |
Fu Haifeng is a Chinese former badminton player. He is regarded as one of the greatest men's doubles players of all time.
The Thomas Cup, sometimes called the World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships have been conducted every two years since the 1982, amended from being conducted every three years since the first tournament held in 1948–1949.
Liliyana Natsir is an Indonesian former badminton player who specialized in doubles. She is one of the standout front court player, with dexterousness and skill in controlling and executing the shuttlecock. Natsir has tremendous record over more than two decade by winning a gold and a silver from the Olympic Games, and four gold medals at the BWF World Championships. Her achievements are recognized worldwide, and was inducted in the BWF Hall of Fame in 2022.
The Indonesia National Badminton Team represents Indonesia in international badminton team competitions and is controlled by the Badminton Association of Indonesia, the governing body for badminton in Indonesia. Indonesia is one of the only two countries beside China who has won all badminton discipline in the Olympic Games.
The BWF World Championships, formerly known as IBF World Championships, and also known as the World Badminton Championships, is a badminton tournament sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF). The tournament is one of the most prestigious in badminton, offering the most ranking points, together with the Summer Olympics badminton tournaments which was introduced in 1992. The winners of this tournament are also crowned as "World Champions" of the sport, and are awarded a gold medal.
The 2011 Sudirman Cup was the twelfth tournament of the Sudirman Cup. It was held from May 22–29, 2011 in Qingdao, China. According to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) 32 teams confirmed their participation, for the first time twelve teams competed in the elite group to battle for the title.
The 2013 Sudirman Cup was the thirteenth tournament of the Sudirman Cup. It was held from May 19–26, 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. According to the Badminton World Federation (BWF) 31 teams have confirmed their participation, for the second time, twelve teams competed in the elite group to battle for the title.
Marcus Fernaldi Gideon is an Indonesian former professional badminton player who was formerly ranked world No. 1 in the men's doubles by the Badminton World Federation alongside Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo. He plays for PB Jaya Raya, and has been a member of the club since June 2018. He and Sukamuljo were recognized as one of the most outstanding players, and awarded as the BWF Best Male Players of the Year for two years in a row after collecting seven Superseries titles in 2017 and eight World Tour titles in 2018, including two back-to-back All England Open titles.
Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo is a former Indonesian badminton player who was formerly ranked world number 1 in the men's doubles by the Badminton World Federation. Considered to be one of the best players of his generation, he won the men's doubles titles at the All England Open in 2017 and 2018; World Superseries Finals in 2017; and at the Asian Games in 2018. He also featured in the Indonesia winning team at the SEA Games in 2015; Asia Team Championships in 2018 and 2020; and at the Thomas Cup in 2020. Together with his former partner, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, they were awarded the BWF Best Male Players of the Year for two years in a row after collecting seven Superseries titles in 2017 and eight World Tour titles in 2018.
The Australia national badminton team, also known as The Falcons, represents Australia in international badminton team competitions. The team is controlled by Badminton Australia, the leading authority for badminton in the country. The team's history dates back to 1900, with the establishment of Badminton Australia in 1932 leading to the formation of the national team. The Falcons made their international debut in the 1955 Thomas Cup.
Kim Astrup Sørensen is a Danish badminton player. He was the men's doubles gold medalists at the 2018 European Championships and the 2023 European Games with his partner Anders Skaarup Rasmussen. He also won the bronze medal at the World Championships in 2021 and later a silver medal in 2023. Astrup joined the Denmark winning team at the 2016 Thomas Cup in Kunshan, China, where he and his teammates beating Indonesia 3–2 in the final. Together with Rasmussen, he reached a career high of World number 5 in September 2018.
Shi Yuqi is a Chinese badminton player. Shi won his first Superseries title in the 2016 French Open. At the 2017 All England Open, he defeated 6-time champion Lin Dan to reach the final, and repeated the same feat again at the 2018 All England Open, where he outclassed Lin Dan in the tournament final. He also won a silver medal at the 2018 World Championships.
Apriyani Rahayu is an Indonesian badminton player specializing in doubles. She and Greysia Polii are the reigning Olympic champions in the women's doubles following their win at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She won gold at the 2019 SEA Games, and two bronze medals at the World Championships in 2018 and 2019. Rahayu also won bronze medals at the 2018 Asian Games in the women's team and doubles with her former partner Polii.
Kim Won-ho is a South Korean badminton player. Kim who was educated at the Maewon High School, competed at the 2016 Asian Junior Championships, and won the silver medals in the mixed doubles and team event. He was also a bronze medalist at the 2017 World Junior Championships in the boys' doubles and team event. Kim is the son of the Olympic gold medalist Gil Young-ah. He was the youngest player from the Korean national team who competed at the 2017 Sudirman Cup. He played one match, in the opening tie with Russia in the round robin stage. In the final round, Korea won the title after beating China by the score of 3–2. He represented Korea in the 2018 Thomas Cup but lost the match against Indonesia and therefore eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Seo Seung-jae is a South Korean badminton player. He is the first South Korean player in 24 years to have won two gold medals in a single edition of the BWF World Championships, by winning the mixed and men's doubles event at the 2023 BWF World Championships, partnering with Chae Yoo-jung and Kang Min-hyuk respectively. He competed at the 2017 Sudirman Cup and helped the Korean national team to its fourth trophy.
The 2019 BWF season was the overall badminton circuit organized by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) for the 2019 badminton season to publish and promote the sport. The world badminton tournament in 2019 consisted of:
1. BWF Tournaments
The 2020 Thomas & Uber Cup was the 31st edition of the Thomas Cup and the 28th edition of the Uber Cup, the biennial international badminton championship contested by the men and women's national teams of the member associations of Badminton World Federation (BWF). The tournament were played at Ceres Arena in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the first time that Denmark hosted the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup tournament and the first time this event was held in Europe since England 1982. It was due to be played on 15–23 August 2020, but on 29 April 2020 it was postponed to the 3–11 October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 15 September 2020 it was again postponed and on 21 December 2020 it was announced that it was postponed to 9–17 October 2021.
The 2021 Sudirman Cup was the 17th edition of the Sudirman Cup, the biennial international badminton championship contested by the mixed national teams of the member associations of Badminton World Federation (BWF), since its inception in 1989. The tournament was played in Vantaa, Finland, between 26 September and 3 October 2021. China were the defending champions. They successfully defended their title, lifting the trophy for a record-extending 12th time.
The 2022 Thomas & Uber Cup was the 32nd edition of the Thomas Cup and the 29th edition of the Uber Cup, the biennial international badminton championship contested by the men and women's national teams of the member associations of Badminton World Federation (BWF). The tournament was hosted at Bangkok, Thailand in the Impact Arena from 8 to 15 May 2022. This marks the third time Thailand has hosted the Thomas Cup, and second time for the Uber Cup.
The 2023 Sudirman Cup was the 18th edition of the Sudirman Cup, the biennial international badminton championship contested by the mixed national teams of the member associations of Badminton World Federation (BWF), since its inception in 1989. The tournament was played in Suzhou, China, between 14 and 21 May 2023. China were the defending champions. They successfully defended their title, lifting the trophy for a record-extending 13th time.