England are back in action this weekend when a strong squad of our top male players head out to the TotalEnergies BWF Thomas Cup Finals in Bangkok, Thailand.
From May 8-15, the world’s best in men’s badminton will battle it out for victory at the Impact Arena.
The 2022 tournament will be the 32nd edition of the Thomas Cup and marks the third time that Thailand have hosted the tournament.
The last time England played in the Thomas Cup was back in 2016 when they finished third in their group.
In the 2020 tournament, which was delayed until October 2021 due to Covid, England were set to join Group D were forced to withdraw from the event after three of their four singles players got injured.
However, this year we’re back, as doubles partners Ben Lane and Sean Vendy will take to the court on May 9 after having recently won bronze at the European Championships in Madrid.
They will be joined by two more doubles partnerships in Callum Hemmin and Steven Stallwood, and Roy Easton and Zach Russ.
The four singles players representing Team England are Toby Plenty, who has 207 career wins to his name, Johniee Torjussena and teenagers Cholan Kayan and Sid Palakkal.
Tournament format
England have been drawn in Group D alongside Japan, Malaysia and the USA – a last minute stand in after New Zealand were confirmed to have dropped out due to significant number of Covid cases in their squad.
The group stage takes place from May 8 to May 11 with England taking a bye on the first day.
England Group matches:
Monday May 9 – Malaysia v England – Court 2 at 9am
Tuesday May 10 – Japan v England – Court 1 at 2pm
Wednesday May 11 – England v USA – Court 3 at 7pm
Each match will see five games: three singles and two doubles. The match winners taking the most victories over the five.
Those who progress from each group stage then head to the knockout stages, with the top two team from each moving onto the quarter-finals.
The last eight do battle on May 12, before the semi-finals on May 13, with the grand final taking place on May 15.
You can keep up with all the action at https://bwf.tournamentsoftware.com/sport
Badminton England Squad for 2022 Thomas Cup
Men’s Singles:
Toby Penty
Johnnie Torjussen
Cholan Kayan
Sid Palakkal
Men’s Doubles:
Ben Lane and Sean Vendy
Callum Hemming and Steven Stallwood
Rory Easton and Zach Russ