In the 2020 Thomas Cup, Indonesia won by defeating China the defending champion from 2018 with a score of 3-0. As a result, Indonesia got their 14th title – another Thomas Cup victory after 18 years. In a few days, the 2022 Thomas Cup will be held in Bangkok Thailand from 8 to 15 May 2022.
The competition in the 2022 Thomas Cup will be tough. For Indonesia, the defending champion, it might not be easy to repeat their sweet victory in Denmark last year as their power has somehow weakened. Kevin Sanjaya Sukamulja/Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, the world #1 men’s doubles will not be able to compete due to Marcus Gideon’s surgery. The #2 men’s doubles in the world Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan also known as “The Daddies” will be the ones to cheer for. However, their performance is also impacted as they've become older. In the men’s singles, Indonesia's mainstay Anthony Sinisuka Ginting has never won a tournament yet in 2022 and is frequently losing in the first round.
Denmark, China, Malaysia, Japan, and Chinese Taipei are also strong champion candidates. Denmark has a fierce team, especially in the singles sector. Two of their singles player are on the top 3 of the BWF World Rankings, namely Viktor Axelsen (#1) and Anders Antonsen (#3). Denmark also has Rasmus Gemke (#13) and Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (#22). However, having a solid squad doesn’t guarantee Denmark to win all 3 points in the singles matches. Their experience in 2020 showed that losing one point only in the single’s sector resulted them to lose 1-3 from Indonesia at the semifinal. This is partly because in the doubles sector Denmark can only rely on the world’s #10 men’s doubles Kim Astrup/Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, who often lost when facing Asian doubles players.
China is definitely a country that needs to be taken very seriously. Even that they no longer has Chen Long as part of the team, China has a lot of players with high spirit and are maturing in terms of gameplay. In the singles sector, China will have Lu Guangzu (#25), Zhao Junpeng (#37), Sun Feixiang (#54), Li Shifeng (#64), and Weng Hongyang (#81). Even though their ranking is not as high as those coming from other strong countries, Chinese players are known to be hard to defeat. One of the latest proof is how Weng Hongyang, ranked #81, could win the title at the Korea Open 2022. Meanwhile, having the Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen separated almost have no impact to China’s strength in the doubles sector. Interestingly, at the group stage, China will immediately face Denmark.
Malaysia seems to be coming to the Thomas Cup 2022 with a huge ambition, moreover after their victory in the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2022. Aside from being the champion in Badminton Asia Team Championships 2022, just sent Lee Zii Jia to becoming the champion of the Badminton Asia Championships 2022. Besides Lee Zii Jia, Malaysia also has the powerful duo Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik who’s the runner up of the Badminton Asia Championships and also bronze medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, in the singles sector, Malaysia doesn’t really have another player who is at par with Lee Zii Jia. The other Malaysian singles players are Liew Daren (#35), Ng Tze Yong (#44), and Aidil Sholeh (#133). Meanwhile, in the doubles sector there will be two strong pairs accompanying Chia/Soh, namely Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi (#11) and Goh Sze Fei/Nur Izzuddin (#16). By securing one point in the singles match and two in the doubles, Malaysia has a strong chance in winning the cup.
Two other countries that can be a strong champion candidate are Japan and Chinese Taipei. However, the strength of the two countries is rather unstable. Kento Momota, who once dominated the singles number before Covid-19, hasn’t been performing as well as he used to be. At the Badminton Asia Championships 2022 last week, the former world #1 lost to the unseeded badminton player from Indonesia Chico Wardoyo in the first round. Kento Momota's companion in singles are Kanta Tsuneyama (#14), Kenta Nishimoto (#20), and Kodai Naraoka (#45). In the doubles sector, Japan has a pair that can be relied on to win points, namely Takuro Hoki/Yugo Kobayashi who are ranked #4 in
Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, only has one singles and one strong doubles. Chou Tien Chen is ranked #4 in the world and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic men's doubles gold pair Lee Yang/Wang Chi-lin are now ranked #4. Aside from these players, Taiwan will find it difficult to score.
