See worldbadminton.net article on the subject. THOMAS CUP FINALS TEAM SEEDINGS: 1 China; 2 Denmark; 3 Malaysia; 4 Korea; 5 Indonesia; 6 Japan; 7 Thailand; 8 Germany; 9 England; 10 USA; 11 New Zealand; 12 South Africa UBER CUP FINALS TEAM SEEDINGS 1 China; 2 Korea; 3 Chinese Taipei; 4Japan; 5 Denmark; 6 Germany; 7 Netherlands; 8 Australia; 9 Canada; 10 Indonesia; 11 Malaysia; 12 South Africa Notes: Seedings were primarily based on the world rankings of 26 February 2004, although the final ranking order from the Asian and European qualification events was adhered to. The draw for the Thomas & Uber Cup Finals will take place on 12 March at 1500hrs local time in Jakarta. The 12 teams are drawn into four groups of three teams. Within each group the teams play round-robin to produce a group ranking. Group winners automatically progress to the quarter-finals. The remaining eight teams play-off to produce the other four quarter-finalists.
5 strong teams. 4 groups. 5 teams don't fit in 4 groups. one mountain cannot hold 2 tigers. there will be fierce blood shed in one. esp since the extra tiger is Indonesia.
In TC Korea should be ranked above Malaysia, Korea 1st and 2nd mens singles have higher WR than their Malaysian comparatives, both Korean doubles are WR higher than their Malaysian counterparts, clearly on paper Korea would win 4-1.
Somehow IBF has some sort of system that seeds Malaysia above Korea. But whether 3 or 4 doesn't really matter. What really matters is who gets 5. On paper, that would be Indonesia. But if you were to choose based on your judgement, how would you choose? My choice (not easy) would be: 1. China (very strong in MS potential 3-0 against any team, MD 50-50 against other strong pairs) 2. Malaysia (except against China, potential MS 3-0 against other teams, doubles quite OK but depends on comeback of Chan Chong Ming to provide strong second pair) 3. Korea (MD potential 2-0 against other teams but form hard to judge, MS could sneak a point or two.) 4. Indonesia (homeground advantage but form except for Sony is largely unknown) 5. Denmark (MS could lose 3-0 against other teams, first MD quite strong, second getting weak)
This is probably because the ranking from the Asian and European qualifications was adhered to. Malaysia was ranked 2nd after China and so had a higher rank over South Korea. Ron
South Africa is last in rank for both Thomas and Uber cups. I wonder how well they will do. Will they be the doormats or will they have some surprises up their sleeves. Ron
unfortunate timing to say second MD getting weak, just before they won All England. Erikson/Lundgaard are the highest ranked 2nd MD
Being seeded at no. 5 is probably a blessing in disguise for Indonesia. They are probably so pissed off by this lowly ranking that they will come back with a vengeance to show they are no easy pickings. With their willingness to experiment with pairings, their players now peaking at the right time, and their rich history of badminton talent, depth and experience, I would go so far as to seed them no.1, ahead of China. They have a point to prove, one of which is to redress the insult and humiliation of being rated as a has been. Never in the history of Indonesia's Thomas cup challenges, since they emerged as champions in 1958, have they been so humiliated; and this is happening despite the fact that they still have some of the world's best players in both singles and doubles.
I agree with taneepak's conclusions. Despite being champions for five consecutive years, Indonesia is still being ranked a lowly fifth in the Thomas Cup. It is clear that by just basing on the individual players' world ranking points, this has somewhat distorted the strength of the team event, more so when Indonesia is playing host again since 1994, when it beat Malaysia 3-0 in Jakarta. The pent-up fervour of the badminton fanatics will erupt everytime Indonesia plays an opponent on home ground, especially long-time foe, Malaysia and it will be especially more vicious during the Finals. The just concluded ABC in KL is an indication of things to come. When Hafiz was pitted against Sony in the QF, the Indonesian supporters completely overwhelmed their Malaysian counterparts, despite the foreign territory. And yes, the Indonesian players seem to peak at the right time for the TC with all the Indonesian players dominating the Finals in men's singles and doubles, albeit without the participation of China's top player. Even among themselves, the Indonesian players created upsets with Taufik beating Sony and the lesser pair of Trikus/Sigit overcoming Candra/Halim, who themselves had earlier eliminated the more favoured pair of Flandy/Eng Hian in the SF. And the irony is that Sigit and Halim will be dropped from their TC line-up resulting in the scratched pairing of Candra/Trikus as the third men's doubles team. So there is great depth in Indonesia's doubles, from which they expect to win two points, with at least one point coming from their singles. Indonesia will prove the IBF very wrong in their assessment!
I also agree with taneepak, but IBF uses a system to decide the seeding, and the system is known to every party a long time ago. Indonesia cannot blame anyone for their fifth seeding. Indeed they don't, but they will use it to spur themselves. I think the victim of this will ultimately be Malaysia (unless they go for second placing).
