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
Irish Open (badminton) Irish Open (badminton) The Irish International or Irish Open in badminton is an international open held in Ireland since 1902 and is thereby one of the oldest badminton tournaments in the world. It was however interrupted by the two World Wars. This tournament is currently a part of the European Badminton Circuit and takes place at the beginning of December every year as part of the home nations loop of International tournaments that include the Scottish Open and the Welsh Open in consecutive weeks. The tournament for most part and in recent years has been an International Challenge rated event.