The BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals is the apex of team badminton, and only the finest shuttlers grace the event.
This edition in Chengdu, China, a pair of such women’s singles players are set to etch their names into the annals of history by appearing at their seventh consecutive Uber Cup, showcasing their extraordinary longevity and dedication to the sport.
Dane Line Kjaersfeldt and Thai Ratchanok Intanon both made their tournament debuts 12 years ago, incidentally, also in China.
A year before she became world champion, the then 17-year-old Intanon played four matches as first singles in Wuhan, winning one and losing three – including to another future icon in Tai Tzu Ying – in Thailand’s semifinal run. Having established herself as one of the leading stars in her discipline post-2012, Intanon would go on to win Uber Cup silver on home soil in 2018 following a 3-0 final defeat to Japan.
Kjaersfeldt on the other hand, contributed significantly to her nation’s campaign, featuring in all three ties. Eighteen at that time, she took the opening Group D battle against American Jamie Subhandi in Denmark’s 4-1 win. Fate had its twists; Denmark’s journey concluded against Thailand in the quarterfinals, where Kjaersfeldt fell to a 20-year-old youngster named Sapsiree Taerattanachai, while the Europeans’ solitary point in the 3-1 defeat was courtesy of Intanon’s loss to Tine Baun.
At the last edition in Bangkok two years back, Intanon won three of her five matches as Thailand exited in the semis at the hands of eventual runners-up China. Kjaersfeldt left with two wins out of three matches.
Interestingly, the duo next on the list of longest interrupted appearances in Uber Cup also hail from the same countries – Mia Blichfeldt and Busanan Ongbamrungphan all set for their sixth outing this weekend, having debuted in 2014 in New Delhi, India.
Meanwhile, eight players bunched on five appearances are:
TotalEnergies BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2024 begin this Saturday, with Denmark scheduled to play USA at 6pm local time. Thailand open their campaign a day later against Australia.