Defending champions India will have an easy entry into the knockout stage of the badminton event of the Commonwealth Games as they have been drawn against Australia, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan in Group 1 of the mixed team competition. The badminton competition at the quadrennial event, which will be held in Birmingham from July 29 to August 8, consisting of the mixed team event followed by the individual event.

The final of the mixed team event will be held on August 2. A total of 16 teams will be competing in the the mixed event and they have been drawn into four groups with the top two nations progressing to the knockout stage.

The draw was conducted in Birmingham in March but Nigeria subsequently withdrew in early May with Zambia now confirming their replacement. Five-time champions Malaysia, who were beaten by India in the final of the last edition in Gold Coast, are in Group 4 with South Africa, Jamaica, and Zambia.

England, winners of the first eight editions of the team event starting from 1966, are in Group 2 with Singapore, Mauritius, and Barbados, while Group 3 features Pan Am powerhouses Canada, alongside Scotland, Maldives, and Uganda. Each tie in the team event consists of best-of-five matches with men's and women's singles and three doubles -- men's, women's and mixed, which will test the overall strength of the team.

"The Commonwealth Games have a unique feel. While it features some of badminton's traditional powers, there are also teams with a more recent badminton tradition, and thus there is a wonderful diversity of styles and approaches to the competition," said BWF President Poul-Erik Hyer. "I wish all the teams competing the best of luck," he added.