Uber Cup

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Uber Cup, sometimes called the World Team Championships for Women, is a major international badminton competition contested by women's national badminton teams. It has been played every two years since 1984, amend from three years previously, after merging with the Thomas Cup, played in same period and venue.

The Uber Cup is named after an ex-British women's badminton player, Betty Uber, who had the idea of hosting the women's event similar to men in New Zealand back in 1950.^[1] She also made the draw for the 1956-1957 inaugural tournament, which took place at Lytham St. Annes in Lancashire, England.^[2]

The cup follows a similar format to that of the men's competition of the Thomas Cup. In the twenty-one tournament held, China is the most successful, having lifted the trophy eleven times. Japan is second, having won it five times, followed by Indonesia and United States, each with three cups.

The 2008 Uber Cup was contested in Jakarta, Indonesia.

[edit] Trophy

The Uber Cup trophy was officially presented at the annual general meeting in 1956, the year the first Uber Cup tournament was first held.^[2] It was made by Mappin & Webb, prominent silversmiths on Regent Street in London. The trophy is 20 inches high with a rotating globe on top of a plinth and a female player standing on top of shuttlecock.^[1]

[edit] Results

[edit] Uber Cup summaries

[edit] 1957 - 1981

Year	Host	Final
Year	Host	Winner	Score	Runner-up
1957 Details	Lancashire, England	United States	6–1	Denmark
1960 Details	Philadelphia, United States	United States	5–2	Denmark
1963 Details	Wilmington, United States	United States	4–3	England
1966 Details	Wellington, New Zealand	Japan	5–2	United States
1969 Details	Tokyo, Japan	Japan	6–1	Indonesia
1972 Details	Tokyo, Japan	Japan	6–1	Indonesia
1975 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia	Indonesia	5–2	Japan
1978	Auckland, New Zealand	Japan	5–2	Indonesia
1981	Tokyo, Japan	Japan	6–3	Indonesia

[edit] 1984 - 1988

Year	Host	Final			Third Place
Year	Host	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Third Place	Score	Fourth Place
1984 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	China	5–0	England	Korea	5–0	Denmark
1986 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia	China	3–2	Indonesia	Korea	3–2	Japan
1988 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	China	5–0	Korea	Indonesia	5–0	Japan

[edit] 1990 onwards

Year	Host	Final			Semi-finalists
Year	Host	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Semi-finalists
1990 Details	Nagoya & Tokyo, Japan	China	3–2	Korea	Indonesia	Japan
1992 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	China	3–2	Korea	Sweden	Indonesia
1994 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia	Indonesia	3–2	China	Sweden	Korea
1996 Details	Hong Kong	Indonesia	4–1	China	Korea	Denmark
1998 Details	Hong Kong, China SAR	China	4–1	Indonesia	Denmark	Korea
2000 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	China	3–0	Denmark	Korea	Indonesia
2002 Details	Guangzhou, China	China	3–1	Korea	Netherlands	Hong Kong
2004 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia	China	3–1	Korea	Japan	Denmark
2006 Details	Sendai & Tokyo, Japan	China	3–0	Netherlands	Germany	Chinese Taipei
2008 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia	China	3–0	Indonesia	Korea	Germany

[edit] Successful national teams

So far, only 4 countries have won the Uber Cup with China the most successful team with 11 titles, followed by Japan (5 titles), Indonesia (3 titles) and United States (3 titles). The Uber Cup has only crossed the shores of two continents so far: Asia and North America.

Eight teams have made it into the finals. Korea has played in the finals five times, but failed to win losing each to China. Other finalists have included Denmark, England and the Netherlands. Sweden, Hong Kong, Germany and Chinese Taipei are the other four teams which have made it into the final four.

Teams	Titles	Runners-up
China	11 (1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1998, 2000, 2002*, 2004, 2006, 2008)	2 (1994, 1996)
Japan	5 (1966, 1969, 1972, 1978, 1981*)	1 (1975)
Indonesia	3 (1975, 1994, 1996)	7 (1969, 1972, 1978, 1981, 1986, 1998, 2008)
United States	3 (1957, 1960, 1963)	1 (1966)
Korea		5 (1988, 1990, 1992, 2002, 2004)
Denmark		3 (1957, 1960, 2000)
England		1 (1963)
Netherlands		1 (2006)

* = hosts

[edit] Team appearances

The map shows countries that have sent teams to the Uber Cup

As of 2008^[update], twenty-one teams have made at least one appearance in Uber Cup. Asia is the continent with most teams at ten, followed by Europe with six. Americas and Oceania have each had two teams that qualified while South Africa is the only team that has qualified from Africa.