# 1952 Thomas Cup

The 1952 Thomas Cup competition is an international team tournament for supremacy in men's badminton (its female counterpart is the Uber Cup). Beginning in 1948–49, it was held every three years until 1982 and thereafter has been held every two years. Twelve national teams contested for the Thomas Cup in the 1951-1952 badminton season, the tournament's second edition. According to the rules then in place Malaya was exempt from earlier ties (team matches), needing only to defend its title in a conclusive challenge round tie. The other contestants were divided into three regional qualifying zones, the Pacific, Europe, and Pan America, for the early ties. The winners of each zone then played-off in Malaya for the right to face Malaya in the challenge round. For a more detailed description of the Thomas Cup format see Wikipedia's general article on the Thomas Cup.

## Qualification

India qualified in the Pacific Zone by beating newcomers Thailand and Australia without the loss of a match (thus, 9–0 in each case). Six of the twelve teams in the tournament contested in the European zone. Here Denmark emerged victorious, but not without a tough fight from Sweden (6–3) in the zone semifinal. In the Pan American zone with only two teams, the United States defeated Canada 6–3, trumping a fine performance by Canada's Don Smythe.
| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Slot | Qualified teams |
| 1949 Thomas Cup | 22 – 26 February 1949 | Preston | 1 | Malaya |
| Pacific Zone | 30 June – 1 October 1951 | Bombay Melbourne | 1 | India |
| American Zone | 23 – 24 March 1952 | Calgary | 1 | United States |
| European Zone | 10 November 1951 – 19 March 1952 | Paris Bessbrook Nottingham Copenhagen Manchester | 1 | Denmark |
| Total | Total | Total | 4 | |

## Knockout stage

The following four teams, shown by region, qualified for the 1952 Thomas Cup. Defending champion and host Malaya automatically qualified to defend the title it had won three years previously.

### Bracket

| First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Challenge round | Challenge round |
| Malaya | | | |
| Bye | | | |
| Bye | | Malaya | |
| | | Bye | |
| | | | | 31 May 1952 – Singapore | 31 May 1952 – Singapore |
| | | | | Malaya | 7 |
| 24 May 1952 – Kuala Lumpur | 24 May 1952 – Kuala Lumpur | | | | Malaya | 7 |
| 24 May 1952 – Kuala Lumpur | 24 May 1952 – Kuala Lumpur | | | United States | 2 |
| Denmark | 3 | | | United States | 2 |
| Denmark | 3 | 27 May 1952 – Singapore | 27 May 1952 – Singapore | | |
| India | 6 | 27 May 1952 – Singapore | 27 May 1952 – Singapore | | |
| India | 6 | India | 4 | | |
| | | United States | 5 |
| United States | | United States | 5 |
| Bye | | | |

### First round

* 24 May 1952 (1952-05-24) 25 May 1952 (1952-05-25)
| Denmark | 3–6 | India |
| Report |||
* Selangor Badminton Association Hall, Kuala Lumpur

### Second round

* 27 May 1952 (1952-05-27) 28 May 1952 (1952-05-28)
| United States | 5–4 | India |
| Report |||
* Happy World Stadium, Singapore

### Final

* 31 May 1952 (1952-05-31) 1 June 1952 (1952-06-01)
| Malaya | 7–2 | United States |
| Report |||
* Happy World Stadium, Singapore
* 1952 Thomas Cup winner
* Malaya Second title