1949_Thomas_Cup

1949 Thomas Cup

1949 Thomas Cup

Badminton tournament

The 1949 Thomas Cup was the inaugural tournament of Thomas Cup, the most important men's badminton team competition in the world.

Quick Facts Tournament details, Dates ...

The tournament was originally planned for 1941–1942 (badminton seasons in the northern hemisphere traditionally ran from the autumn of one calendar year to the spring of the next), but was delayed when World War II exploded across the continents. Sir George's dream was finally realized in 1948-1949 when ten national teams participated in the first Thomas Cup competition.

Qualification

Main article: 1949 Thomas Cup qualification

Three qualifying zones were established: Pan America, Europe, and the Pacific; though Malaya (now Malaysia and Singapore) was the only Pacific zone participant. In a format that would last until 1984, all ties (matches between nations) would consist of nine individual matches; the victorious nation needing to win at least five of these contests. The top two singles player of each side faced both of the top two players for the opposite side, accounting for four matches. A fifth singles match took place between the third ranked singles players for each team. Finally, two doubles pairings for each side played both of the doubles pairings of the opposite side, accounting for four more matches. Each tie was normally contested over two days, four matches on the first day and five on the next. The United States and Denmark won their respective zone qualifications and thus joined Malaya for the inter-zone ties.

More information Means of qualification, Date ...

Knockout stage

Main article: 1949 Thomas Cup knockout stage

The inter-zone ties were held in the United Kingdom. As the tournament used a knockout system, rather than a round-robin system, Denmark was given a bye in the first round. Malaya defeated the USA 6–3 in a highly competitive match played in Glasgow, Scotland (none of the players on either side had ever seen any of the players on the other side play before). Of note, this tie marked the first of only three ever matches between the USA's Dave Freeman and Malaya's[lower-alpha 2] Wong Peng Soon the two greatest singles players of the early post-war period. In the final round held in Preston, England, Malaya beat Denmark 8–1 and became the first nation to win a Thomas Cup.[1]

Bracket

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
21 February 1949 – Glasgow
 
 
 Malaya6
 
25 February 1949 – Preston
 
 United States3
 
 Malaya8
 
 
 
 Denmark1
 
Bye
 
 
 Denmark
 

Semi-finals

More information 6–3 ...
21 February 1949 (1949-02-21)
22 February 1949 (1949-02-22)
Kelvin Hall, Glasgow

Final

More information 8–1 ...
25 February 1949 (1949-02-25)
26 February 1949 (1949-02-26)
Queen's Hall, Preston
 1949 Thomas Cup winner 

Malaya
First title

Notes

  1. Malaya automatically qualified for the Thomas Cup finals by being the only representative in the Pacific Zone.
  2. The nation of Malaya is distinct from modern-day Malaysia, as at the time the team consisted of players from both Malaysia and Singapore in a single nation.

References

  1. [1]
    "Mike's Badminton Populorum". Archived from the original on 2016-03-30. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
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