2014 Thomas & Uber Cup

The 2014 Thomas & Uber Cup was the 28th tournament of the Thomas Cup and 25th tournament of the Uber Cup, the badminton team championships for men and women respectively. It was held on 18–25 May 2014 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi, India. This is the first time India hosted the two cups.[1]

2014 Thomas & Uber Cup
2014 थॉमस एंड उबेर कप
Tournament details
Dates18–25 May 2014
Edition28th (Thomas Cup)
25th (Uber Cup)
LevelInternational
VenueSiri Fort Sports Complex
LocationNew Delhi, India
← 2012 2016 →

The Thomas Cup final featured two teams not expected to make it there as Japan faced Malaysia. In a back-and-forth contest, Japan came out on top by a score of 3 matches to 2, winning their first Thomas Cup.[2] The Uber Cup final featured the top two teams, China and Japan. Backed by wins from the world's top two singles players, China came out on top by a 3–1 score. It was their 13th title overall.[3]

Host city selection

New Delhi was awarded with this event by Badminton World Federation on April 2013.[4] This event marked the first time India hosted the Thomas and Uber Cup finals after hosting 2009 BWF World Championships in Hyderabad.

Qualifiers
Confederation Qualifier
Thomas Cup Uber Cup
Asia  Indonesia
 Malaysia
 Japan
 South Korea
 Thailand
 Chinese Taipei
 Hong Kong
 Singapore		  Indonesia
 Malaysia
 Japan
 South Korea
 Thailand
 Chinese Taipei
 Hong Kong
 Singapore
Europe  Denmark
 Germany
 England
 Russia
 France		  Denmark
 Germany
 Russia
 England
Pan Am —  Canada
Oceania —  Australia
Africa  Nigeria —
Defending Champions  China  China
Host  India  India

Seedings

The seeding list was based on 6 March 2014 world rankings as the draw was conducted on 30 March 2014.[5][6][7] The top four seeded teams were in the first pot, followed by the next four teams in the second pot, the next four teams in the third pot, and the last four teams were in the fourth pot.

The knock out draw was held immediately after the group stage was completed.

Squads
Further information: 2014 Thomas & Uber Cup squads

Thomas Cup

Groups
Main article: 2014 Thomas Cup group stage

Knockout stage

All times are India Standard Time (UTC+05:30).

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
22 May 2014
 
 
 China3
 
23 May 2014
 
 Thailand0
 
 China0
 
22 May 2014
 
 Japan3
 
 Japan3
 
25 May 2014
 
 France1
 
 Japan3
 
22 May 2014
 
 Malaysia2
 
 Denmark1
 
23 May 2014
 
 Malaysia3
 
 Malaysia3
 
22 May 2014
 
 Indonesia0
 
 South Korea2
 
 
 Indonesia3
 

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

The top four teams in the semi-final were the top four seeded teams in this competition. They also won their respective groups.

Final

Both Japan and Malaysia arrived in the final having already surpassed expectations by defeating traditional powerhouses China and Indonesia in the semi-final, both with 3–0 scores.

In the first singles matches, Malaysia's world number one Lee Chong Wei defeated Japan's Kenichi Tago in straight sets. In the next match, Malaysia's scratch combination of Hoon Thien How and Tan Boon Heong won the first set, but Japan's world number three pair of Kenichi Hayakawa and Hiroyuki Endo stayed close and pipped their opponent to win the match. In the second singles match, upcoming Japanese player Kento Momota bested Chong Wei Feng in straight sets. The second doubles match was perhaps the most explosive, with quick volleys, many powerful smashes, and several diving saves. In the end Malaysia's doubles team of Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong stayed unbeaten during the tournament and leveled the best of five contest by defeating Japan's Keigo Sonoda and Takeshi Kamura in three sets. Thus, the hopes of both countries fell to the third singles players. Malaysia's Daren Liew got out to an early lead, but as the game progressed he made a couple of errors, misjudging the shuttle. Japan's Takuma Ueda won the match in three sets, giving Japan their first title.[2][8]

 2014 Thomas Cup Champion 

Japan
First title

Uber Cup

Groups
Main article: 2014 Uber Cup group stage

Knockout stage
 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
22 May 2014
 
 
 China3
 
23 May 2014
 
 England0
 
 China3
 
22 May 2014
 
 South Korea0
 
 South Korea3
 
24 May 2014
 
 Thailand1
 
 China3
 
22 May 2014
 
 Japan1
 
 Indonesia0
 
23 May 2014
 
 India3
 
 India2
 
22 May 2014
 
 Japan3
 
 Denmark0
 
 
 Japan3
 

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Three of the teams in the semi-final were among the top four seeded teams in this competition. The other team is host India. All four teams won their respective groups.

Final

China and Japan were the top two seeded teams in the Uber Cup and faced each other in the final.

Olympic champion and world number one Li Xuerui quickly defeated her Japanese opponent Minatsu Mitani in straight sets. Japan evened the contest in the first doubles when Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi stopped China's top women pair, Bao Yixin and Tang Jinhua, in straight sets. World number two Wang Shixian put China back in front when she beat Japan's Sayaka Takahashi in another match that ended in straight sets. China clinched the title in the second doubles when Wang Xiaoli and Zhao Yunlei bested Miyuki Maeda and Reika Kakiiwa. China thus won the tie three matches to one.[3][9]

 2014 Uber Cup Champion 

China
Thirteenth title

References
  1. Sandip Sikdar (20 May 2014). "India's growing stature in badminton world". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  2. Dev Sukumar (25 May 2014). "Li-Ning BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2014 – Day 8: Japan's Historic Triumph". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  3. Dev Sukumar (24 May 2014). "Li-Ning BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals – Day 7: China Retain Uber Cup". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  4. "India to host 2014 Thomas, Uber Cup finals". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  5. "Thomas Cup and Uber Cup team seeding and qualifiers". BWF. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  6. "DRAWS: 2014 Thomas Cup Finals". BWF. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  7. "DRAWS: 2014 Uber Cup Finals". BWF. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  8. "So near yet so far". New Straits Times. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  9. Amlan Chakraborty (25 May 2014). "China defend Uber Cup title after Thomas Cup heartbreak". Reuters. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
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