The qualifying process for the 1996 Thomas Cup took place from 18 to 25 February 1996 to decide the final teams which would play in the final tournament.
Qualification process The qualification process was divided into two regions, the Asian Zone and the European Zone. Seeded teams received a bye into the second round while unseeded teams competed in the first round for a place in the second round. The first two rounds were played in a round-robin format. Teams in the second round competed for a place in the knockout stages. Semi-final winners in each zone were guaranteed qualification for the final tournament to be held in Hong Kong while the remaining teams competed in a third place playoff match for a place in the final tournament.
Indonesia qualified for the final tournament as defending champions while Hong Kong qualified as hosts.
Qualified teams Country Qualified as Qualified on Final appearance1996 Thomas Cup hostsJanuary 19961st1994 Thomas Cup winners21 May 199416thAsian Zone winners25 February 199616thAsian Zone runners-up25 February 19968thThird place in Asian Zone25 February 19967thEuropean Zone winners25 February 199619thEuropean Zone runners-up25 February 19967th Third place in European Zone25 February 19967th
Asian Zone The qualification rounds for the Asian Zone were held from 18 to 25 February at Auckland Badminton Hall in Auckland, New Zealand. Twelve teams took part in qualifying for the final tournament. Argentina made their first appearance in the Thomas Cup qualifying rounds.
First round Group A
Group B
Second round Group X
Group Y
Knockout stage
Semi-finals
Third place
Final
European Zone The European qualifying rounds were held in Průhonice Hall in Prague, Czech Republic.
First round Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Group I
Group J
Second round Group W
Group X
Group Y
Group Z
Knockout stage
Semi-finals
Third place
Final
References