1949 Thomas Cup 1949 Thomas Cup The 1949 Thomas Cup was the inaugural tournament of Thomas Cup, the most important men's badminton team competition in the world. The tournament was originally planned for 1941-1942 (badminton seasons in the northern hemisphere traditionally ran from the autumn of one calendar year to the spring of the next), but was delayed when World War II exploded across the continents. Sir George's dream was finally realized in 1948-1949 when ten national teams participated in the first Thomas Cup competition. Three qualifying zones were established: Pan America, Europe, and the Pacific; though Malaya (now Malaysia) was the only
European Badminton Championships all host cities and countries of the European Championships. On 15 January 2008, Manchester of England won the bids to stage the 2010 events. Starting from 2017, the championship will be an annual event except for the year with European Games. Below is the list of the most ever successful players in the European Badminton Championships: <nowiki>*</nowiki> "included medals won by the USSR and the CIS" European Badminton Championships The European Badminton Championships is a tournament organized by the Badminton Europe (BE). The first of these competitions was held in 1968. The competition was held once every two years to