SINGAPORE — Singapore’s 28-year absence from the Thomas Cup finals will end next month after they were handed a backdoor entry by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

The Republic was included in the list of 16 nations for badminton’s premier team competition to be held in New Delhi (May 18-25) after three higher-ranked countries declined to take part.

Ranking points from each nation’s top three singles and top two doubles pairings are combined to determine their positions, with Singapore having a total of 83,326 points.

Holland (126,308 points), Poland (100,500) and Sweden (86,367) all turned down the opportunity to feature in the finals, resulting in the BWF extending the invitation to Singapore, which the Singapore Badminton Association accepted.

The BWF revised its qualifying format for both the Thomas and Uber Cups this year, putting an end to the continental play-off format.

Singapore’s only appearance in the Thomas Cup finals was in the 1986 edition in Jakarta. The tournament was won by China. Singapore’s women’s team will also be playing in the Uber Cup by virtue of the format change.

In the Thomas/Uber Cup draw conducted in New Delhi on Sunday, Singapore were drawn in Group A of the Thomas Cup together with Indonesia, Thailand and Nigeria and Group B in the Uber Cup with Indonesia, South Korea and Australia.

“It’s a tough draw,” said national head coach Liu Qingdong on the Thomas Cup. “Overall, our men’s team are weaker than Indonesia and Thailand.

“The Indonesians are strong both in the singles and doubles, having three singles players who are in the top 20 (Tommy Sugiarto, Sony Dwi Kuncoro and Dionysius Rumbaka), and also the world No 1 doubles pair of Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan.

“We may stand a chance against Thailand, but then again we have to be at our very best. Whatever happens in India will be a good experience and exposure for our players.”

Singapore’s Thomas Cup squad will be led by Derek Wong, who is ranked 45th in the world, and the recent winners of the Malaysian GP Gold men’s doubles title Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Chayut Triyachart, who have a world ranking of 53.

Thomas Cup.

Group A: Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Nigeria

Group B: Japan, Denmark, Hong Kong, England

Group C: Malaysia, South Korea, India, Germany

Group D: China, Chinese Taipei, Russia, France

Uber Cup:

Group A: China, Chinese Taipei, England, Russia

Group B: South Korea, Indonesia, Australia, Singapore

Group C: Thailand, India, Canada, Hong Kong

Group D: Japan, Denmark, Malaysia, Germany