Wales national badminton team

Wales
AssociationBadminton Wales (BW)
ConfederationBE (Europe)
PresidentCath McCluskey
BWF ranking
Current ranking102 Decrease 5 (2 January 2024)
Highest ranking36 (7 January 2013)
Sudirman Cup
Appearances8 (first in 1993)
Best resultGroup stage
European Mixed Team Championships
Appearances21 (first in 1972)
Best resultQuarter-finals (1984, 1986)
European Men's Team Championships
Appearances6 (first in 2004)
Best resultQuarter-finals (2008)
European Women's Team Championships
Appearances6 (first in 2004)
Best resultGroup stage
Helvetia Cup
Appearances14 (first in 1969)
Best resultRunners-up (1983, 1985, 1987)

The Wales national badminton team (Welsh: Tîm badminton cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in international badminton team competitions.[1] It is controlled by Badminton Wales, the national organization for badminton in the country. Wales have never participated in the Thomas Cup and the Uber Cup. The team's last appearance in the international stage was at the 2007 Sudirman Cup.

The Welsh team had participated in the 2020 European Men's and Women's Team Badminton Championships but were defeated in the group stage.

History

Badminton has been played in Wales since the early 1920s. Welsh players then competed in the All England Open Badminton Championships and the Welsh International Championships. In 1928, Badminton Wales (then called the Welsh Badminton Union) was formed. Wales was also one of the nine founder members of the Badminton World Federation.[2][3]

The Welsh national team competed in their first ever international team event when its first few players were sent to qualify for the 1955 Thomas Cup.

Former national player Chris Rees was selected to be the performance coach of the Welsh national badminton team in 2020.[4]

Men's team

The Welsh men's team first competed in the 1955 Thomas Cup qualifiers. The team failed to advance to the inter-zone elimination round after losing 9−0 to Denmark on home soil.[5] The men's team returned to qualify for the 1984 Thomas Cup after a long hiatus.[5] The team beat Finland and the Netherlands 4−1 but lost their chances of entering the second round after losing 4−1 to Sweden. In the qualifiers for the 1986 Thomas Cup, the team won against Finland and Norway but failed to advance further after losing to England.[5]

In the 1990 Thomas Cup qualifiers, the Welsh team made history after they advanced to the semi-final stages for the first time, beating Bulgaria, Spain and Kenya in their group. They then lost to Sweden and Canada in the semi-final stages and failed to edge out against Austria.[5]

The Welsh team competed in the inaugural edition of the European Men's Team Badminton Championships in 2006 but were halted in the group stage.[6] They showed improvement two years later in the 2008 European Men's Team Badminton Championships by not only advancing to the quarter-finals but also topping the group for the very first time.[7] The team were defeated by Germany in the quarter-finals.[8]

Women's team

The Welsh women's team took part in qualifying for the 1986 Uber Cup. The team lost in the first round group stage to Germany, England and Ireland.[9] In the 1996 Uber Cup qualifiers, the team entered the second round after beating Slovenia, Austria and Spain but lost in the second round group stage to Denmark, Scotland and India.[9] The women's team entered the second round for the next few Uber Cup qualifiers but did not advance further.[9]

The women's team also competed in the 2006 European Women's Team Badminton Championships. They failed to get past the group stages.[10]

Mixed team

The Welsh mixed team first competed in the 1969 Helvetia Cup and finished in 5th place. In the 1970 Helvetia Cup, the Welsh team beat Norway in the third place tie.[11] The team also competed in the inaugural edition of the European Mixed Team Badminton Championships in 1972 but were eliminated in the group stages.[12] The team were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 1974 European Mixed Team Championships.

The Welsh team made history by entering the 1983 Helvetia Cup. They lost the final to Germany.[11] The team entered the Helvetia Cup finals two consecutive times in 1985 and 1987 but lost to the Netherlands and Germany respectively.[11]

Competitive record

Commonwealth Games

European Team Championships

Helvetia Cup

Year Round Pos
1962 Did not enter
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969 Fifth place 5th
1970 Third place 3rd
1971 Group stage 8th
1973 Group stage 8th
1975 Group stage 5th
1977 Group stage 6th
1979 Fourth place 4th
1981 Third place 3rd
1983 Runners-up 2nd
1985 Runners-up 2nd
1987 Runners-up 2nd
1989 Fourth place 4th
1991 Fourth place 4th
1993 Group stage 10th
1995 Did not enter
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Junior competitive record

Suhandinata Cup

Year Round Pos
2000 Did not enter
2002
2004
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2022
2023
2024 TBD

Commonwealth Youth Games

Mixed team

Year Round Pos
2004 Did not enter

European Junior Team Championships

Mixed team

Year Round Pos
1975 Group stage 11th
1977 Did not enter
1979 Group stage 12th
1981 Group stage 7th
1983 Group stage 8th
1985 Group stage 8th
1987 Group stage 11th
1989 Group stage 12th
1991 Group stage 12th
1993 Group stage 9th
1995 Group stage 16th
1997 Did not qualify
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009 Group stage 18th
2011 Group stage 29th
2013 Group stage 21st
2015 Did not enter
2017
2018
2020
2022
2024 TBD

Finlandia Cup

Mixed team

Year Round Pos
1984 Fourth place 4th
1986 Group stage 9th
1988 Group stage 5th
1990 Group stage 5th
1992 Group stage 5th
1994 Did not enter
1996 Group stage 7th
1998 Group stage 8th
2000 Group stage 10th
2002 Group stage 19th
2004 Group stage 8th
2006 Group stage 15th
**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Staff

The following list shows the coaching staff for the national badminton of Wales.

Name Role
Wales Daniel Font Head coach
Wales Luke Bailey Support coach
Wales Chris Rees Performance coach

Players

Current squad

As of 2 January 2024

Men's team

Name DoB/Age Ranking of event
MS MD XD
Andrew Oates 29 July 1999 - 941 478
Archie Bult 11 April 2003 988 - -
Andrew Jones 11 October 1997 - 1229 -
Adam Stewart 18 March 1996 - 1229 -
Mebel Mano Kurian 1 January 2009 1217 1181 -
Jewel Mano Varughese 2 January 2006 1561 1181 -
Harper Leigh 1 September 2006 1195 - -
Scott Oates 10 April 1998 - 941 -

Women's team

Name DoB/Age Ranking of event
WS WD XD
Jordan Hart 26 January 1995 535 - -
Jessica Ding 27 November 2003 1134 - -
Learna Herkes 13 October 2003 - - -
Jasmine Owen 4 March 2004 - - -
Aimie Whiteman 23 May 2003 - - -
Saffron Morris 3 July 2007 373 336 478
Alice Palmer 26 February 1992 - - -
Katie Whiteman 13 October 2000 - - -

Previous squads

Sudirman Cup

European Team Championships

References

  1. ↑ "2007 Sudirman Cup - Groups" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-03-21. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  2. ↑ "History". badmintonwales.net. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  3. ↑ "Badminton Wales - Brief History". Badminton Wales. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "Badminton Wales welcomes Chris Rees as Performance Coach". www.badmintoneurope.com. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Archiv Thomas Cup". Mike's Badminton Populorum. Archived from the original on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  6. ↑ "BWF - 2006 European M & W Team Championships - General". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  7. ↑ "BWF - European Men's & Women's Team Championships 2008 - General". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  8. ↑ "BWF - European Men's & Women's Team Championships 2008 - Germany - Wales: 3-0". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  9. 1 2 3 "Uber Cup Results". World Badminton. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  10. ↑ "BWF - 2006 European M & W Team Championships - General". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  11. 1 2 3 "EBU-Turniere / Europameisterschaften im Detail Helvetia Cup (B-Klasse Mannschaften)". Mike's Badminton Populorum. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  12. ↑ "BadmintonEurope.com - European Mixed Team Championships". badmintoneurope.com. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
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