Thomas Uber Cup likely to be postponed

Malaysian media The Star has reported that the Thomas Uber Cup is likely to be postponed and take place post the 2021 Olympics.

“The Thomas Uber Cup finals are virtually off. The finals scheduled to be held in Aarhus Denmark from Oct 3-11 is set to be held after next year’s Tokyo Olympics,” the Kualalumpur based paper reported. BWF had huddled till late on Sunday, to discuss the future of the tournament riddled by large scale withdrawals.

The spurt of pull outs of top Asian countries Korea and Indonesia from the Thomas Uber Cup scheduled for October in Aarhus, had forced a rethink in the remaining contingents.

Indosport.com had hinted that Japan could be the next one to pull out, saying the federation was discussing whether to go ahead or not. The website quoted the chairman of Nippon Badminton Association as saying, “The decision will be made next week, but considering the teams withdrawing, this year’s Thomas – Uber Cup is still (looking) very difficult to hold.” September 18 is the last date for confirmation.

Chinese media Aiyuke and Japan’s Daily Star reported the development earlier. Meanwhile BWF were to discuss the fate of TUC, according to Malaysian



thestar.com.my.

In India, former World No 1 and Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal tweeted, “7 countries have withdrawn from tournament cause of the pandemic…Is it safe enough to conduct this tournament during this time ??… (Thomas and Uber Cup 2020) #coronavirus”

Thomas Cup titans Indonesia and eternal contenders Korea’s withdrawal came after Thailand and Australia had withdrawn while Singapore and Hong Kong had declined an invite.

With cases rising across the world, there are reservations about going ahead with the team event, though Japan, China, India and Malaysia are still on schedule to participate. Malaysian media also speculated that China was in the process of a rethink.

Over the weekend Malaysian legend and former great Rashid Sidek also sounded a dissenting note. “If four teams have withdrawn, it’s better to just postpone it.

Thailand and Taiwan can be considered strong teams for the Thomas and Uber Cup, but if they pull out and are replaced by a lower ranking team, that quality is definitely lacking,” indostar.com quoted him as saying.

Sidek, a 1992 Thomas Cup champ, is said to have added the title would be highly devalued owing to the withdrawals.