Sudirman Cup

Sudirman Cup - Overview
The Sudirman Cup is one of the most prestigious events in world badminton. It is a World Team Championships that is held after every two years. It's the only BWF world badminton event where men and women compete together as part of their national teams. (The other prestigious world badminton events are the Thomas Cup which is only for men, and the Uber Cup which is only for women).

The Sudirman Cup offers no prize money. Players participate in this event for the prestige of their country, and in addition to this they can also gain valuable BWF World Ranking points.

Sudirman Cup - History
The first Sudirman Cup tournament was played in Indonesia in 1989 and it became a biennial event (played once in every 2 years) and the first few competitions were staged in conjunction with the World Championships.

When the event was first played in 1989 it had 28 national teams participating. Now after more than 20 years since its inception, it attracts national teams of more than 50 different countries.

The cup is named in the memory of former champion badminton player Dick Sudirman of Indonesia (1922-1986) who was also the founder of the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) and was its chairman for 22 years. He was also the vice president of the IBF (International badminton federation) in the year 1975.

Sudirman Cup - Winners
The Sudirman cup has been played for 10 times now as a biennial event, and only three countries have so far been able to win it since its inception - Indonesia has won the cup once and they did it in the 1989 inaugural event, Korea has won the cup 3 times, while China has dominated the event in recent years winning it 6 times.

The Chinese domination at this cup in recent times has been so complete, that out of the last 8 times that this event has been played, from 1995 to 2009, they have won it 7 times.

Sudirman Cup - Format
The event does not have any qualification rounds. Participating nations are divided into 7 groups based on their previous performances and only those countries who are part of Group 1 get a chance to win and lift the trophy. Those in other groups win to get promoted to group 1.
(This format is similar to the Davis cup format followed in tennis)

Sudirman Cup Trophy
The Sudirman Cup trophy is 80 cm in height, and is made up of 22 carat gold-plated solid silver. It is mounted on an octagonal base that's made up of Java teak wood. The main body of the Cup above it's base, looks similar to a badminton shuttlecock and on top of it is a replica of the Borobudur Temple.

The 2011 Sudirman Cup - schedule
The 12th - 2011 Double Star BWF Sudirman Cup World Mixed Team Championships is scheduled to be held at the Qingdao Sports Centre Conson Stadium, at Qingdao, in China from  22nd to 29th May-2011.
In the 2011 Sudirman Cup, India have been given a seeding of 10th and are in the 12-teams elite group. In the 2009 play-off matches, India had defeated Bulgaria and ensured there promotion to the elite group this year. Defending champions China are the top seeds followed by Denmark & Indonesia.


.