BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- China will begin their campaign for reclaiming the Thomas Cup when they take on Australia in the opening day of the TOTAL BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2018 in Bangkok on Sunday 20 May.

The news comes after the badminton governing body BWF published the competition schedule of the Thomas & Uber Cup.

Both defending champions will be in action on the second day. Thomas Cup title-holders Denmark face Algeria in Group D at 9 a.m.(local time), while Uber Cup winners China battle France.

Thomas Cup top seeds China, who will look to reclaim the title they last won in 2012, face India, France and Australia in Group A. Defending Thomas Cup champions Denmark will have to contend with Malaysia, Russia and Algeria in Group D.

In the Uber Cup, top seeds Japan, who are the hot favourites considering strong performances by their singles and doubles pairs recently, will look to top Group A that includes India, Canada and Australia.

Defending champions and second seeds China are contemplating the prospect of a 15th Women's World Team Championship. Their group challengers are Indonesia, France and Malaysia in Group D.

"We look forward to an intriguing Thomas & Uber Cup tournament. There are several strong challengers in both events and I will not be surprised to see some surprises along the way," said BWF President Poul-Erik Hoyer.

"I would like to extend best wishes to all 16 teams and, as a fan, I can hardly wait for the Thomas & Uber Cup Finals to begin," Hoyer added

The Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup tournaments both feature 16 teams divided into four groups. Round-robin matches will be completed on Wednesday 23 May, following which a quarterfinal draw will be conducted.

The Uber Cup final is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday 26 May, with the Thomas Cup championship clash taking place at 1 p.m. on Sunday 27 May.

The TOTAL BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2018 will be held at IMPACT Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.