In our last piece, we glanced at the Thomas Cup, which is a prestigious men’s team badminton event. In this article, we’ll look at the Uber Cup, which is the equivalent of the Thomas Cup in women’s categories.
The Uber Cup is a Grade 1 women’s team badminton tournament that takes place every two years with 16 teams. And here we’ll see when the tournament started, its current format, and the most successful winners.
Uber Cup: History
Following the start of the Thomas Cup in 1949, the idea of having an equivalent tournament for the women’s shuttler came forward a year later. In 1950, Betty Uber, a former shuttler from Britain, put forward the idea of starting the Uber Cup.
The proposal, though, didn’t garner a lot of interest, as the Badminton World Federation (then International Badminton Federation) cited a lack of funds. As the years passed by, the women’s competition gained steam, and in 1953, the federation approved the proposal.
Uber’s thought came to reality seven years later, in March 1957. She herself planned the draws of the inaugural edition, with the tournament being named after her.
The first-ever Uber Cup then took place in Lancashire, England, with four participating teams in the main event. Denmark, India, New Zealand, and the USA made it to the main event after winning their regional qualifiers.
The four teams played directly into the semi-finals, with India squaring off against the USA and Denmark taking on New Zealand. The USA and Denmark entered the final, with the USA emerging as the inaugural winners.
Following that, the Uber Cup happened every three years before it became a biennial event in 1984. Now, the women’s team event takes place every two years concurrently with the Thomas Cup.
Uber Cup: Qualification and Participating Teams
The qualification process of the Uber Cup is the same as the men’s event, with 16 teams making the final cut.
The tournament hosts and previous edition winners gain direct access, while the remaining spots are decided via regional qualifiers and BWF World team rankings.
Uber Cup: Current Format
The format is also identical to the Thomas Cup, with 16 clubbed in four groups of four each. Teams lock horns with the group members once, playing three singles games and two doubles.
The top two teams of all four groups then cruise into the quarter-finals, where they fight for a semi-final berth. Then the winners of the semi-final face off against each other in the final to get crowned as the Uber Cup champions.
The knockouts also have five games per match. But the match only enters the fourth and fifth sets if none of the teams wins the first three games with a 3-0 lead.
Uber Cup: Winners
The Uber Cup has seen five teams emerge as the champions since 1957. China have a clear dominance in the women’s team event, with 16 crowns to their name.
Japan have laid their hands on the trophy six times, while Indonesia and the USA have won it three times each. South Korea are the other team to win the championship.
Here is the list of Uber Cup winners:
| Team | Titles |
|---|---|
| China | 16 |
| Japan | 6 |
| Indonesia | 3 |
| USA | 3 |
| South Korea | 2 |
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