Thomas and Uber Cup 2018: Badminton live stream, TV listings, preview and full schedule

Top shuttlers from across the globe have landed in Bangkok, Thailand for Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2018 — the world men's and women's team championships, starting Sunday, May 20.

The premier team tournament will feature 16 men's teams for the Thomas Cup and as many women's teams for the Uber Cup.

Tournament format

• 16 teams have been divided into groups of four each in both Thomas and Uber Cups.
• The top two teams at the end of a single-legged round-robin group stage will progress to the quarter-final stages.
• The group stages will begin on Sunday, May 20 and run till Wednesday, May 23. The knockout stages will start Thursday, May 24 and the finals will be played on Sunday, May 27.
• Each tie (between teams from two countries) will have three singles rubbers and two doubles rubbers.

How to watch Thomas and Uber Cup tie live on TV, online in India

Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD will provide live television coverage of Thomas and Uber Cup matches in India. The live stream will be available on Hotstar.

Global live stream and TV listings

• US: NBC Sports, NBCSports.com, OlympicChannel.com
• Malaysia: TV: Astro Supersport 4, Live stream: Astro Go
• Thailand: True Visions

Thomas Cup 2018 - Groups and draw preview

Group A - China [1], India, France and Australia

Eight-time champions China begin Thomas Cup 2018 campaign as the top seeds. The Asian heavyweights have assembled a strong unit for their campaign.

With the likes of Olympic champions Lin Dan and Chen Long along with top-ranked doubles pairing of Liu Chen/Zhang Nan and Li Junhui/Liu Yuchen, China will be the team to beat in Group A.

On the other hand, India have travelled to Jakarta with a weakened squad. In the absence of world number four Kidambi Srikanth and top-ranked men's doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty, the Indian Thomas Cup squad needs to punch above its weight to stand a chance of finishing on the podium.

Schedule

Group B - Indonesia [3], Korea, Thailand and Canada

With Thomas Cup giants Indonesia, Thailand and Korea drawn together, Group B can be labelled as the "Group of Death".

Only two teams from each group qualify for the quarter-final and thus the three-way race between the Asian heavyweights should be riveting.

Marcus Fernaldi and Kevin Sanjaya, the unstoppable men's doubles pairing, will lead Indonesia's campaign. While the onus to deliver in the men's singles rubbers will be on Jonathan Christie and Anthony Ginting, the selection of Firman Abdul Kholik over seasoned campaigner Tommy Sugiarto comes as a surprise.

Schedule

Group C - Chinese Taipei [4], Japan, Hong Kong, Germany

Chinese Taipei are seeded fourth and will start as favourites to top Group C. With good balance in both the singles and doubles units, the Asian side will be the team to beat.

Meanwhile, 2014 champions Japan have been boosted by the return of world number 12 Kento Momota, who is heading into the tournament fresh from the success at Badminton Asia Championships last month.

Schedule

Group D - Denmark [2], Malaysia, Russia, Algeria

Defending champions Denmark has the firepower to finish on the top step of the podium. The likes of Viktor Axelsen, comeback man Jan O Jorgensen and Anders Antonsen will lead their singles.

However, the absence of second-ranked doubles player Carsten Mogensen and injury concern to their number two doubles pairing of Mads Conrad-Petersen / Mads Pieler Kolding puts them in a difficult situation.

Meanwhile, Malaysia will be hoping for a good show at the Thomas Cup, especially after match-fixing scandals rocked the sport in the south-east Asian country. The onus to deliver will be on badminton great Lee Chong Wei and country's top-ranked doubles pairing of Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong.

Schedule

Uber Cup 2018 - Groups and draw preview

Group A - Japan [1], India, Canada and Australia

Japan have been handed the top seed for Uber Cup. The bronze medalists at 2016 edition have a well-balanced unit to halt China's winning streak in the world team championships.

India, who also won bronze in the last edition, will be led by reigning Commonwealth Games champion Saina Nehwal.

In the absence of PV Sindhu and women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponappa/Sikki Reddy, India face an uphill task in the premier tournament.

Schedule

Group B- Thailand [4], Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and Germany

Thailand, the fourth-seeded team, are expected to ease into the knockout stage of the tournament.

Chinese Taipei, who will be led by world number one Tai Tzu Ying, and Hong Kong may have a two-way battle for qualification.

Schedule

Group C - Korea [3], Denmark, Russia, and Mauritius

Korea, the former champions, and runners-up of 2016 edition have been handed an easy draw. While they will be tested by Denmark in the doubles rubbers, Russia and Mauritius are unlikely to trouble the badminton powerhouses.

Schedule

Group D - China [2], Indonesia, Malaysia and France

14-time champions China have been boosted by the return of veteran Li Xuerui. The Olympic champion returns to competitive action being sidelined for 600 days due to injury.

With a strong doubles squad and the youngsters of the likes of Chen Yufei at their disposal, China might just extend its winning streak to four this year.

Schedule