20 March 2025
England will face both the Asian and European champions in the group stage of the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2025.
English shuttlers will face reigning Asian champions Indonesia and European champions Denmark alongside India in Group D.
Action gets underway on 27 April in Xiamen, China, and runs until 4 May. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals, which will be drawn on 1 May.
England last faced both Indonesia and Denmark in the group stage at the 2019 Sudirman Cup in Nanjing, with Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith leading an enthralling 3-2 win over the Danes.
Reflecting on the draw, Badminton England’s performance director Morten Frost said: “The interesting thing is people focus on Indonesia and Denmark but I think India will be a very strong participant in that group.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if India doesn’t throw a spanner into the works for either Denmark or Indonesia, they have a very strong team.
“So for us, it is all about going out there with no fear, playing the best we can and I normally stay every point is a victory.
“We are up against three fantastic teams and we just need to learn from it.”
Each tie at the Sudirman Cup consists of five matches: a men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and a mixed doubles.
A point is awarded for each match a country wins, with the country with the most points after five matches winning the tie.
For Frost, reaching the finals stage of the Cup is an achievement in itself and anything that comes after it is an opportunity for growth.
The Dane has explained what players need to do between now and the end of April to earn selection for the squad
He added: “It’s all happening in Milton Keynes in the day-to-day training, they really need to prove they have the commitment and want to do it and be part of it and obviously adding on layer by layer.
“I have so often been asked over the years what is talent? And for me, talent is the ability to add on tiny little bits every day, and if you can do that, you have the talent to really go out and conquer the world.
“But if you meet the ceiling too early, it is going to very difficult.
“So it is all about what they do in training, their performance behaviours, eat, sleep, drink all of that, preparation, everything is being looked at and obviously we need a few good results at the tournaments that we are playing at the moment too.”
