China sending 18 shuttlers to Sudirman Cup
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The Sudirman Cup badminton mixed-team championship is only a month away and five-time winner China remains the hot favorite. China will deploy 18 shuttlers to compete at the biennial event in Glasgow from June 11-17, while Indonesia, which won the maiden event, will send 20, English daily The Jakarta Post reported Thursday. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) will announce the seeding for the event on Thursday and make the draw on May 10. China is expected to be the top seed. A total of 49 teams will compete in the tournament with 12 from Asia, 31 from Europe, three from Pan America, two from Oceania and one from South Africa. Only China, South Korea and Indonesia have won the competition, which was first held in 1989 in Jakarta. Badminton Scotland chief executive Anne Smillie said Wednesday in a press statement: "We are delighted to have so many teams this year. When China won in Beijing two years ago there were 41 teams taking part. So we are pleased to have improved on that figure. It shows how important the World Team Championships is to our sport." "Nations from as far away as Mongolia, Peru, Turkey and Belarus will be taking part and we are delighted that all five continents are represented," she said. Sudirman, former Indonesian Badminton Association chief and namesake of the tournament, is hopeful Indonesia will bring home the cup. |
