New Delhi: India has thrown its hat into the ring for another marquee badminton assignment, with the country formally submitting its bid to host the 2028 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals.The move comes on the heels of India hosting the BWF World Championships here.“It has been around four to five months since we submitted our bid to host the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2028. We are looking at Delhi as a potential venue, given that it has the infrastructure and experience to host a tournament of this scale. Having successfully hosted the World Championships, we are confident in Delhi’s ability to deliver another world-class event,” Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary general Sanjay Mishra told TOI.If India wins the bid, it will host the prestigious men’s and women’s team championships for only the second time, having staged the Finals at Delhi’s Siri Fort Sports Complex from May 18-25 in 2014.The Thomas Cup, the men’s world team championship, dates back to 1948-49, while the Uber Cup, its women’s counterpart, began in 1956-57. Together, they rank among the BWF’s oldest major international events.India’s record adds further weight to the bid. The men won their maiden Thomas Cup title in Bangkok in 2022 and claimed bronze again at the 2026 edition in Horsens, Denmark. The women have never reached the Uber Cup final, with their semi-final, bronze-medal finishes in 2014 and 2016 being their best performances.The 2026 Finals were held in Horsens from April 24 to May 3, with China winning the Thomas Cup and South Korea the Uber Cup.The next round of hosting decisions is awaited. Sources said BWF is expected to announce the 2027 Sudirman Cup host next week, while the 2027 World Championships host could also be announced. Indonesia is understood to be a front-runner for the latter.The decision on the host of the 2028 Thomas & Uber Cup Finals, however, will be taken separately and in due course, with India now firmly in contention.
