The four European teams travelling to China in a little over two weeks have been named.
Denmark, England, France, and Germany have all already picked their squads for the upcoming TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2023. Taking place in Suzhou, China, from 14 until 21 May, the 18th edition of the international championship will see the 16 best mixed teams in the world competing for the title.
There is not long to go before the Group Stage kicks off, with the last European teams confirmed just last week. This is all we know about who will be travelling to Suzhou.
Denmark
Male players:
Anders Antonsen, Kim Astrup, Viktor Axelsen, Mathias Christiansen, Rasmus Gemke, Anders Skaarup, Frederik Søgaard, Mathias Thyrri, Jeppe Bay (reserve), Lasse Mølhede (reserve)
Female players:
Mia Blichfeldt, Alexandra Bøje, Line Christophersen, Maiken Fruergaard, Amalie Magelund, Sara Thygesen, Line Kjærsfeldt (reserve)
Group:
In Group A with China, Egypt, and Singapore.
Coach’s comments:
“There are experienced players, but we have also made room to potentially give even more championship experience to the younger players.” - National Head Coach Kenneth Jonassen to Badminton Denmark.
Interesting facts:
Denmark has won a total of 11 medals, with their last being a bronze in 2013.
England
Male players:
Nadeem Dalvi, Marcus Ellis, Cholan Kayan, Ben Lane, Sean Vendy
Female players:
Chloe Birch, Lisa Curtin, Freya Redfearn, Lauren Smith, Estelle Van Leeuwen
Group:
In Group D with France, Japan, and Korea.
Interesting facts:
England won their last and only medal in 2007. The EMTC bronze medallists will take this as a chance to showcase the nation’s future badminton stars — this will be the first Sudirman Cup for almost half of the team. Dalvi, Kayan, Curtin, and Redfearn will have their international mixed team competition debut.
France
Male players:
Lucas Corvée, Thom Gicquel, Ronan Labar, Alex Lanier, Christo Popov, Toma Junior Popov
Female players:
Delphine Delrue, Léonice Huet, Margot Lambert, Xuefei Qi, Anne Tran
Group:
In Group D with England, Japan, and Korea.
Coach’s comments:
“The players understood their role in the group, and it worked well [at the EMTC]. The only hesitation was on the men's doubles. Julien Mayo and William Villeger are starting to play very well and to climb the world rankings but Ronan and Lucas are too, so we kept the same logic." – National Head Coach Fernando Rivas to the French Badminton Federation.
Interesting facts:
Delivering an amazing result on home soil, France have decided to only select players who won the silver at the 2023 European Mixed Team Championships.
Germany
Male players:
Mark Lamsfuss, Marvin Seidel, Jones Jansen, Malik Bourakkadi, Kai Schaefer, Fabian Roth
Female players:
Isabel Lohau, Linda Efler, Stine Kuespert, Emma Moszczynski, Yvonne Li, Miranda Wilson
Group:
In Group B with Indonesia, Canada, and China.
Player’s comments:
“Sudirman Cup is never easy. It is a tough group with two huge badminton nations Indonesia and Thailand. And Canada will also not be easy. But we are looking forward to the tournament and will try out best.” – Isabel Lohau, player.
Interesting facts:
So far, Germany’s highest result at the Sudirman Cup has been the fifth place — in 2013 and 2015.
Find the schedule of the Group Stage
here.