# 1973 Helvetia Cup

The 1973 Helvetia Cup was the eleventh edition of the Helvetia Cup mixed team badminton tournament. This was the second time Austria have hosted the tournament. New countries were introduced and made their debut in the tournament following the absence of powerhouses West Germany and the Netherlands.
Czechoslovakia made history by winning the Helvetia Cup for the first time, defeating Norway and Austria in the final stage. In the classification rounds, Yugoslavia placed first in their group by defeating Switzerland and Hungary while Finland won their group by defeating Wales and Belgium.

## Tournament

The 1973 Helvetia Cup was scheduled to be held from 27 to 28 April 1973 with nine countries participating in the tournament. Hungary and Yugoslavia made their debut in the tournament, replacing the two slots that were originally for West Germany and the Netherlands.

### Venue

This tournament was held at the Graz Badminton Centre in Graz, Austria.

### Draw

The draw was announced on 23 April 1973. The group stage consists of 3 groups, Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3.
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 |
| Belgium Norway Yugoslavia | Austria Hungary Wales | Czechoslovakia Switzerland Finland |

## Group stage

All times are Central European Time (UTC+01:00).

### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | MF | MA | MD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Norway | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 2 | Final |
| 2 | Yugoslavia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 1 | 4th–6th place |
| 3 | Belgium | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 0 | 7th–9th place |
Source: National Library of Norway
* 28 April 1973 (1973-04-28)
| Belgium | 4–3 | Yugoslavia |
| Report |||
* Graz Badminton Centre, Austria
* 28 April 1973 (1973-04-28)
| Norway | 4–3 | Yugoslavia |
| Report |||
* Graz Badminton Centre, Austria
* 28 April 1973 (1973-04-28)
| Belgium | 2–5 | Norway |
| Report |||
* Graz Badminton Centre, Austria

### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | MF | MA | MD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Austria (H) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1 | +12 | 2 | Final |
| 2 | Hungary | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4th–6th place |
| 3 | Wales | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | −12 | 0 | 7th–9th place |
Source: e-newspaperarchives.ch
* 28 April 1973 (1973-04-28)
| Austria | 6–1 | Hungary |
| Report |||
* Graz Badminton Centre, Austria
* 28 April 1973 (1973-04-28)
| Wales | 1–6 | Hungary |
| Report |||
* Graz Badminton Centre, Austria
* 28 April 1973 (1973-04-28)
| Austria | 7–0 | Wales |
| Report |||
* Graz Badminton Centre, Austria

### Group 3

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | MF | MA | MD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Czechoslovakia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 2 | Final |
| 2 | Switzerland | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4th–6th place |
| 3 | Finland | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 0 | 7th–9th place |
Source: e-newspaperarchives.ch
* 28 April 1973 (1973-04-28)
| Finland | 1–6 | Czechoslovakia |
| Report |||
* Graz Badminton Centre, Austria
* 28 April 1973 (1973-04-28)
| Switzerland | 2–5 | Czechoslovakia |
| Report |||
* Graz Badminton Centre, Austria
* 28 April 1973 (1973-04-28)
| Finland | 2–5 | Switzerland |
| Report |||
* Graz Badminton Centre, Austria

## Classification round
### 7th–9th place

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | MF | MA | MD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Finland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 2 | Seventh place |
| 2 | Wales | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 1 | Eighth place |
| 3 | Belgium | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 0 | Ninth place |
Source: e-newspaperarchives.ch
* 29 April 1973 (1973-04-29)
| Belgium | 3–4 | Wales |
| Report |||
* Graz Badminton Centre, Austria
* 29 April 1973 (1973-04-29)
| Finland | 4–3 | Wales |
| Report |||
* Graz Badminton Centre, Austria
* 29 April 1973 (1973-04-29)
| Belgium | 3–4 | Finland |
| Report |||
* Graz Badminton Centre, Austria

### 4th–6th place

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | MF | MA | MD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yugoslavia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 1 | +12 | 2 | Fourth place |
| 2 | Switzerland | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 1 | Fifth place |
| 3 | Hungary | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 0 | Sixth place |

#### Switzerland vs Hungary
## Final
### Round robin

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | MF | MA | MD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Czechoslovakia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 2 | Champions |
| 2 | Norway | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 1 | Runners-up |
| 3 | Austria (H) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 0 | Third place |
Source: e-newspaperarchives.ch

#### Austria vs Czechoslovakia

* 1973 Helvetia Cup winner
* Czechoslovakia First title

## Final ranking

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Pts | MD | Final result |
| | Czechoslovakia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | +12 | Champions |
| | Norway | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | +2 | Runners-up |
| | Austria (H) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | +10 | Third place |
| 4 | Yugoslavia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | +10 | Fourth place |
| 5 | Switzerland | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | −6 | Fifth place |
| 6 | Hungary | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | −6 | Sixth place |
| 7 | Finland | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | −6 | Seventh place |
| 8 | Wales | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | −12 | Eighth place |
| 9 | Belgium | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | −4 | Ninth place |