Team India, the winner of 2022 Thomas Cup.Photo: X | BWF Media Team India, the winner of 2022 Thomas Cup.Photo: X | BWF Media 
The Asian star shuttlers' caravan is en route to Chengdu for the prestigious Thomas and Uber Cup 2024 badminton tournament, starting on Sunday, April 28th. (More Badminton News)
The tournament comprises two equivalent biennial championships - the Thomas Cup is for men and the Uber Cup is for women.
Indonesia, with 14 titles, is the most successful team in the Thomas Cup. China comes in second with 10 titles, while Malaysia holds the third spot with 5 titles. However, India has risen as a major contender with players like HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen. Having won their maiden title in 2022, they are coming as the defending champions.
India has never won the Uber Cup but is hoping to secure their first trophy this year. Since 1998, only China, Korea and Japan have claimed the championship. In the previous year, Korea emerged victorious in tough competition against China.
Unfortunately, India will be missing some of their best players like PV Sindhu, Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto. The spotlight will be on Anmol Kharb, who was the key player during India's winning campaign at the Badminton Asia Team Championships.
Thomas Cup squad:
Singles -HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George
Doubles - Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, MR Arjun, Dhruv Kapila and Sai Pratheek
Uber Cup squad:
Singles - Anmol Kharb, Tanvi Sharma, Ashmita Chaliha and Isharani Baruah
Doubles - Shruti Mishra, Priya Konjengbam, Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker
Schedule:Both the men's and women's championships will include 16 teams divided into four groups. The group stage matches will commence on April 28.
Thomas Cup
Group A: China, South Korea, Canada, Australia
Group B: Japan, Chinese Taipei, Germany, Czech Republic
Group C: Indonesia, India, Thailand, England
Group D: Denmark, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Algeria
Uber Cup
Group A: China, India, Canada, Singapore
Group B: Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Australia
Group C: Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Uganda
Group D: South Korea, Denmark, United States, Mexico
The final round of both the championships will be held on May 5.
Where to watch Thomas and Uber Cup 2024 badminton matches?BWF TV is the official broadcaster of the tournament. The badminton matches of the Thomas and Uber Cup 2024 will be available to stream on the BWF’s YouTube channel8k8, here.