The Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC), together with Total Sports Asia (TSA), is bringing the Robot (sponsor) Thomas & Uber Cups Asian Zone Qualifying Tournament to the world. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, was selected by the BAC for the Qualifying Tournament which will take place from 19th to 24th February 2008. TSA will exclusively distribute media rights on behalf of BAC.
Participating nations will converge on Kuala Lumpur for the Qualifying Tournament draw this weekend. The draw on Sunday, 3rd February 2008 will determine the groupings as follows:
Thomas Cup: Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam
Uber Cup: Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam
China is exempted from the Qualifying Tournament as defending champions for both the Thomas and Uber Cups while Indonesia has the privilege by-passing the qualification process as host for the Thomas & Uber Cups Finals to be held in May.
Only the top four teams from the Robot Thomas & Uber Cups Asian Zone Qualifying Tournament will make the trip to Jakarta in May to vie for top honours against China, Indonesia and six other nations from other zones, including four from Europe.
About the Badminton Asia Confederation: The Badminton Asia Confederation is the governing body of badminton in Asia and is one of the 5 continental bodies under the flag of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). Since the establishment in 1959, BAC has been a successful nursery of champions, ensuring the talent and standards of badminton in Asia continues to grow. Today, the BAC boasts a membership of 39 countries and aims keep Asian badminton as the benchmark for the sport around the world.
About Total Sports Asia: TSA is Asia’s largest independent full service sports marketing, management and consulting company specializing in events, sponsorships, athletes and TV program distribution. TSA celebrates its 10th year in the sports marketing business and operates out of six regional offices across Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai, Dubai, Tokyo and its head office in Kuala Lumpur.