Suzhou (China), May 12 (IANS): Placed in a tough Group C along with strong Malaysia, Chinese Taipei and Australia, India will open their campaign in the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2023 against Chinese Taipei on May 14.

India have never ever made the semifinals of the event but with a strong team that includes strong singles players like PV Sindhu, H.S Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth and top doubles pairs Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and Treesha Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand.

Their next encounter will be against Malaysia in the preliminary group stage of the mixed team badminton competition the 18th edition of which will be held from May 14 to 21 at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre.

Their final encounter in the round-robin preliminary group stage will be against Australia on May 17.

The 16 teams that qualified for the Sudirman Cup Finals have been divided into four groups.

Hosts China, the most successful team in the Sudirman Cup with 12 titles, are the favourites for the title and are clubbed with Denmark, Singapore and Egypt. Group B comprises Indonesia, Thailand, Germany and Canada while Group D includes Japan, South Korea, France and England.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals which will be held on May 19. The semifinals will be played on May 20 and the final will be played on May 21.