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Dongguan (China), March 16 (IANS)
India have been handed a tough pool along with three-time champions South Korea and Malaysia in Group 1D in the Sudirman Cup draw ceremony held here on Monday. The Sudirman Cup, which is the World Mixed Team Badminton Championship held biennially, will this year take place here from May 10 to 17. There are five matches in every round: men and women's singles, men and women's doubles and mixed doubles.
The top 12 teams in Group 1 have been split into four sub-groups with defending champions China finding themselves in a relatively easy spot with Germany and Thailand in Group 1A and would expect to advance in the tournament.
Japan, winners of the Thomas Cup and runners-up in the Uber Cup, are in Group 1B with Chinese Taipei and the United States. Group 1C might well be the 'Group of Death' as it has three strong teams in Denmark, former champions Indonesia and England.
Teams in Group 1 will play two stages -- group play-off followed by knockouts. The top two teams from each sub-group will qualify for the knockouts while the losing semi-finalist will be jointly ranked third.
China have been the most dominant nation in Sudirman Cup, having won nine titles in 13 editions. Indonesia (once) and South Korea (thrice) are the only other nations to have lifted the trophy.
The tournament features 35 teams divided into four groups. Of these, the top 12 ranked teams in Group 1 will vie for the trophy while the other teams in Group 2, Group 3, Group 4 will fight for ranking spots.
Group 1:
Group 1A: China, Thailand, Germany
Group 1B: Japan, Chinese Taipei, United States
Group 1C: Denmark, Indonesia, England
Group 1D: Korea, India, Malaysia
Group 2:
Group 2A: Russia, Hong Kong China, Canada, Spain
Group 2B: Singapore, Netherlands, France, Brazil
Group 3:
Group 3A: Czech Republic, Turkey, South Africa, Austria
Group 3B: Vietnam, Australia, Italy, Switzerland
Group 4:
Group 4A: Nigeria, Philippines, Iceland
Group 4B: Israel, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Kazakhstan
