NANNING, China, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Denmark's badminton team manager Jens Meibom says world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen is in "excellent" form, and that China and Japan are two teams he would like to avoid at the upcoming 2019 Sudirman Cup.

Denmark are pooled with Indonesia and England in Group B. "We're supposed to beat England and then we could qualify [for the quarterfinals], but if we don't beat Indonesia we become second [in the] group," Meibom told Xinhua. "[Then] we might hit China or Japan. It's very difficult. Overall, Japan and China has vast ability in general."

Meibom was a coach with Denmark's national team 15 years ago. He told Xinhua that while some English and German players were competitive on the international stage around ten years ago, it now seems that no other team in Europe is able to compete against the sport's Asian powerhouses.

"So my hope would be that more European countries will be able to challenge Asia," he said.

The 2019 Sudirman Cup will be held from May 19 to 26 in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.