# 1982 Thomas Cup

The 1982 Thomas Cup was the 12th tournament of Thomas Cup, the most important men's badminton team competition in the world. The final round was held in London, England. China won its first title after beating Indonesia in the final round.

## Host selection

On 24 July 1981, the International Badminton Federation announced that England was chosen to host the 1982 Thomas Cup after a badminton showcase. Throughout the competition, five venues in five respective cities staged the matches for the first round, the second round and the challenge round.

## Qualification

26 teams from 4 regions took part in the competition. As defending champion, Indonesia skipped the qualifications and the first round, and played directly in the second round at the inter-zone Ties.
| Means of qualification | Date | Venue | Slot | Qualified teams |
| Host country | 24 July 1981 | England | 1 | England |
| 1979 Thomas Cup | 24 May – 2 June 1979 | Jakarta | 1 | Indonesia |
| Asian Zone | 2 October 1981 – 5 March 1982 | Bangkok Beijing Hyderabad Taipei | 1 | China |
| American Zone | 24 October 1981 – 4 April 1982 | Claremont Lima Kitchener Pomona San Diego | 1 | Japan |
| European Zone | 30 October 1981 – 18 February 1982 | Copenhagen Duisburg Grangemouth Haarlem Pressbaum | 1 | Denmark |
| Australasian Zone | 4–8 August 1981 | Hamilton | 1 | Malaysia |
| Total | Total | Total | 6 | |

## Venues

Five venues in five cities were selected to host the tournament. The first two matches in the first round were staged in Huddersfield and Gloucester. The second round matches were hosted in Birmingham and Preston, Lancashire. The Challenge round was staged at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
| First round | First round | Second round | Second round |
| Denmark vs Japan | Denmark vs Japan | Indonesia vs England | Indonesia vs England | LondonHuddersfieldGloucesterPrestonBirmingham |
| Huddersfield | Huddersfield | Birmingham | Birmingham | LondonHuddersfieldGloucesterPrestonBirmingham |
| Huddersfield Sports Centre | Huddersfield Sports Centre | Aston Villa Leisure and Sports Centre | Aston Villa Leisure and Sports Centre | LondonHuddersfieldGloucesterPrestonBirmingham |
| Malaysia vs England | Malaysia vs England | Denmark vs China | Denmark vs China | LondonHuddersfieldGloucesterPrestonBirmingham |
| Gloucester | Gloucester | Preston | Preston | LondonHuddersfieldGloucesterPrestonBirmingham |
| Gloucester Leisure Centre | Gloucester Leisure Centre | Preston Guild Hall | Preston Guild Hall | LondonHuddersfieldGloucesterPrestonBirmingham |
| LondonHuddersfieldGloucesterPrestonBirmingham |||||
| LondonHuddersfieldGloucesterPrestonBirmingham |||||
| LondonHuddersfieldGloucesterPrestonBirmingham |||||
| LondonHuddersfieldGloucesterPrestonBirmingham |||||

## Knockout stage

The following teams, shown by region, qualified for the 1982 Thomas Cup. Defending champion Indonesia automatically qualified to defend their title.

### Bracket

| First round | First round | Second round | Second round | | Challenge round | Challenge round |
| Indonesia | | | | |
| Indonesia | | 14 May 1982 – Birmingham | 14 May 1982 – Birmingham | | |
| Bye | | 14 May 1982 – Birmingham | 14 May 1982 – Birmingham | |
| Bye | | Indonesia | 8 | |
| 10 May 1982 – Gloucester | 10 May 1982 – Gloucester | | Indonesia | 8 | |
| 10 May 1982 – Gloucester | 10 May 1982 – Gloucester | England | 1 | |
| England | 5 | England | 1 | |
| England | 5 | | | | 20 May 1982 – London | 20 May 1982 – London |
| Malaysia | 4 | | | | 20 May 1982 – London | 20 May 1982 – London |
| Malaysia | 4 | | | | Indonesia | 4 |
| 12 May 1982 – Huddersfield | 12 May 1982 – Huddersfield | | | | | Indonesia | 4 |
| 12 May 1982 – Huddersfield | 12 May 1982 – Huddersfield | | | | China | 5 |
| Denmark | 5 | | | | China | 5 |
| Denmark | 5 | 16 May 1982 – Preston | 16 May 1982 – Preston | | | |
| Japan | 4 | 16 May 1982 – Preston | 16 May 1982 – Preston | | | |
| Japan | 4 | Denmark | 1 | | | |
| | | China | 8 | |
| Bye | | China | 8 | |
| China | | | | |

### First round

* 10 May 1982 (1982-05-10) 11 May 1982 (1982-05-11)
| Denmark | 5–4 | Japan |
| Report |||
* Huddersfield Sports Centre, Huddersfield
* 12 May 1982 (1982-05-12) 13 May 1982 (1982-05-13)
| Malaysia | 4–5 | England |
| Report |||
* Gloucester Leisure Centre, Gloucester

### Second round

* 14 May 1982 (1982-05-14) 15 May 1982 (1982-05-15)
| Denmark | 1–8 | China |
| Report |||
* Preston Guild Hall, Preston
* 16 May 1982 (1982-05-16) 17 May 1982 (1982-05-17)
| Indonesia | 8–1 | England |
| Report |||
* Aston Villa Leisure and Sports Centre, Birmingham

### Final

* 20 May 1982 (1982-05-20) 21 May 1982 (1982-05-21)
| Indonesia | 4–5 | China |
| Report |||
* Royal Albert Hall, London
* 1982 Thomas Cup winner
* China First title