Zambia national badminton team

Zambia

Association	Zambia Badminton Association (ZBA)
Confederation	BCA (Africa)
President	Kingsley Mulenga
BWF ranking
Current ranking	61 (2 April 2024)
Highest ranking	49 (6 July 2017)
African Mixed Team Championships
Appearances	9 (first in 1980 )
Best result	Third place (1984, 2007, 2017)
African Men's Team Championships
Appearances	5 (first in 1980 )
Best result	Runners-up (1982)
African Women's Team Championships
Appearances	2 (first in 1980 )
Best result	Third place (1984)

The Zambia national badminton team represents Zambia in international badminton team competitions. ^[1] The team is controlled by the Zambia Badminton Association.

The Zambian team won two runner-up places in the 1982 African Badminton Championships. Their most recent achievement was in 2017 African Badminton Championships where the mixed team got into the semi-finals for bronze. The team participated in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Zambia made its badminton debut in the Olympics when Eli Mambwe participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics men singles event in Beijing, China.

History

British soldiers introduced badminton to Zambia in the 1940s, when the nation was still a British protectorate. In 1947, the Northern Rhodesia Badminton Association was formed and became part of the International Badminton Federation in 1948. ^[2]

After Zambia's independence in 1964, the national team became part of the Badminton Confederation of Africa in the 1970s. At the time, the national team hosted its first national championships. ^[2]

Men's team

The Zambian men's team first competed internationally in the 1982 African Badminton Championships men's team event and finished as runners-up. In 1984, the men's team took part in qualifying for the 1984 Thomas Cup but failed as the team lost 5–0 to Denmark and Ireland in the group stages. In the qualifiers for the 1986 Thomas Cup, Zambia lost all their matches against Sweden, Austria, Iceland and France. ^[3]

The Zambian team had better results in the 1998 Thomas Cup qualifiers. Although the team lost all their matches to Portugal and Italy, they were able to win a match against Kazakhstan and prevailed against the Georgian team after winning 4–1 in the final match. ^[3]

The men's team then competed in the 2006 Thomas & Uber Cups Preliminaries for Africa which serves as qualification for the Thomas Cup. The men's team reached the semi-finals but lost to South Africa. ^[4]

In 2022, the men's team competed in the 2022 All Africa Men's and Team Badminton Championships. The team beat Zimbabwe to finish second in Group A and advanced to the quarter-finals. ^[5] They then lost 3–1 against South Africa at the quarter-final stage. ^[6]

Women's team

The Zambian women's team finished in fourth place at the 1982 African Badminton Championships women's team event. The team tried to qualify for the 1986 Uber Cup but lost all their matches in their group. ^[7]

Mixed team

The Zambian mixed team first competed in the 1982 African Badminton Championships. The team finished as runners-up after losing to Nigeria in the final.

Zambia then competed in the 2017 African Badminton Championships. The Zambian team finished as group runner-up and advanced to the semi-finals for a guaranteed bronze medal. ^[8] The team lost 3–0 to rivals South Africa in the semi-finals. ^[9] In 2018, the Zambian team debuted in the Commonwealth Games mixed team event. ^[10] The team finished on the bottom of their group after losing to Mauritius, Jamaica and Singapore.

In 2022, the team made their second appearance at the Commonwealth Games. ^[11] The team lost 5–0 to Malaysia. ^[12] The Mulenga brothers have been saviors for the Zambian team as they were able to win a match against Jarred Elliott and Robert Summers of South Africa. ^[13] Zambia ended their 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign after losing 4–1 against Jamaica.

Competitive record

Thomas Cup Year Round Pos 1949 to 1982 Did not enter 1984 Did not qualify 1986 1988 Did not enter 1990 Did not qualify 1992 Did not enter 1994 1996 1998 Did not qualify 2000 2002 Did not enter 2004 Did not qualify 2006 2008 2010 2012 Did not enter 2014 Did not qualify 2016 Did not enter 2018 Did not qualify 2020 Did not enter 2022 Did not qualify 2024 2026 To be determined 2028 2030

Uber Cup Year Round Pos 1957 to 1984 Did not enter 1986 Did not qualify 1988 Did not enter 1990 Did not qualify 1992 Did not enter 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 Did not qualify 2008 Did not enter 2010 2012 2014 Did not qualify 2016 Did not enter 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 To be determined 2028 2030

Sudirman Cup Year Round Pos 1989 to 2019 Did not enter 2021 Did not qualify 2023 2025 To be determined 2027 2029

Commonwealth Games

See also: Badminton at the Commonwealth Games

Men's team Year Round Pos 1998 Did not enter

Women's team Year Round Pos 1998 Did not enter

Mixed team Year Round Pos 1978 to 2014 Did not enter 2018 Group stage 13th 2022 Group stage 14th 2026 To be determined

African Games

Mixed team

Year	Round	Pos
2003	Did not enter
2007
2011
2015
2019	Quarter-finals	6th
2027	To be determined

African Team Championships

Men's team Year Round Pos 1979 Withdrew [a] 1980 Did not enter 1982 Runners-up 2nd 1984 Runners-up 2nd 1988 Did not enter 2016 2018 Quarter-finals 6th 2020 Did not enter 2022 Quarter-finals 6th 2024 Group stage 6th 2026 To be determined 2028 2030

Women's team Year Round Pos 1979 Withdrew [a] 1980 Did not enter 1982 Fourth place 4th 1984 Third place 3rd 1988 Did not enter 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 To be determined 2028 2030

Mixed team Year Round Pos 1980 Did not enter 1982 1984 Third place 3rd 1988 Did not enter 1992 1994 Group stage 1998 Did not enter 2000 2002 2004 2006 Group stage 6th 2007 Semi-finals 4th 2009 Group stage 2011 Did not enter 2013 Group stage 9th 2014 Group stage 7th 2017 Semi-finals 3rd 2019 Quarter-finals 8th 2021 Quarter-finals 6th 2023 Quarter-finals 8th 2025 Group stage 7th 2027 To be determined 2029

FISU World University Games

See also: Badminton at the FISU World University Games

Mixed team

Year	Round	Pos
2007	Group stage	20th
2011	Did not enter
2013
2015
2017
2021
2025	To be determined

World University Team Championships

Mixed team

Year	Round	Pos
2008	Did not enter
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018

**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Junior competitive record

Suhandinata Cup

See also: BWF World Junior Championships

Year	Round	Pos
2000	Did not enter
2002	Group stage	20th
2004	Did not enter
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014	Withdrew
2015
2016
2017	Did not enter
2018
2019
2022
2023
2024	To be determined

Commonwealth Youth Games

Mixed team

Year	Round	Pos
2004	Did not enter

African Youth Games

Men's team Year Round Pos 2018 Did not enter

Women's team Year Round Pos 2018 Did not enter

Mixed team Year Round Pos 2014 Group stage 8th

African Junior Team Championships

Mixed team

Year	Round	Pos
1979	Withdrew [a]
1980	Runners-up	2nd
1982	Runners-up	2nd
1984	Third place	3rd
1988	Did not enter
1993	Third place	3rd
1995	Fourth place	4th
1997	Fourth place	4th
1999	Fourth place	4th
2001	Fourth place	4th
	Group stage (Team B)	6th
2003	Group stage	5th
2005	Fourth place	4th
2007	Group stage	5th
2009	Did not enter
2011
2013
2016	Group stage
2021	Did not enter
2022	Group stage	7th
2024	To be determined

**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Staff

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

Name	Role
Mulenga Kingstin	Coach

Players

Current squad

As of 2 January 2024

Men's team

Name	DoB/Age	Ranking of event
		MS	MD	XD
Chongo Mulenga	(1998-08-19) 19 August 1998 (age 26)	614	230	729
Kalombo Mulenga	(2001-12-29) 29 December 2001 (age 23)	289	230	319
Timothy Kafunda	(1996-01-04) 4 January 1996 (age 29)	574	259	740
Mwanza Edward	(2004-02-10) 10 February 2004 (age 21)	448	259	–
Mark Banda	(1994-07-10) 10 July 1994 (age 30)	–	–	–
Mwansa Rodrick	(1999-07-07) 7 July 1999 (age 25)	–	–	–

Women's team

Name	DoB/Age	Ranking of event
		WS	WD	XD
Elizaberth Chipeleme	(1992-08-04) 4 August 1992 (age 32)	429	349	319
Evelyn Siamupangila	(1997-01-26) 26 January 1997 (age 28)	399	349	729
Matildah Kalandanya	(2003-10-12) 12 October 2003 (age 21)	726	502	740
Victoria Mulengula	(1996-08-19) 19 August 1996 (age 28)	726	502	–
Martha Mkandawire	(2004-01-10) 10 January 2004 (age 21)	–	–	–
Tukuza Mbewe	(2001-08-22) 22 August 2001 (age 23)	–	–	–

Previous squads

Commonwealth Games

• Mixed team: 2018, 2022

African Games

• Mixed team: 2019

African Team Championships

• Men's team: 2010, 2018, 2022
• Mixed team: 2013, 2014, 2017, 2021, 2023

See also

• Sport in Zambia

Notes

1. The Zambian senior and junior teams were late to compete in the championships after they reached the wrong venue and therefore withdrew from the competition.

References

1. "BWF – TOTAL BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2020 (Postponed) – Organization".
2. "Zambia – Badminton Africa". Africa Badminton. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
3. "Archiv Thomas Cup". Mike's Badminton Populorum. Archived from the original on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
4. "Maurice-Afrique du Sud : l?ultime étape". www.lexpress.mu (in French). L'Express . Retrieved 29 November 2016.
5. "BWF – All Africa Men's & Women's Team Championships 2022 – Zambia – Zimbabwe: 5–0". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
6. "BWF – All Africa Men's & Women's Team Championships 2022 – South Africa – Zambia: 3–1". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
7. "Uber Cup Results". World Badminton. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
8. "BWF – All Africa Mixed Team Championships 2017 – General". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
9. "BWF – All Africa Mixed Team Championships 2017 – Team matches". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
10. "Draw made for Gold Coast 2018 mixed team badminton competition". www.insidethegames.biz. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
11. "African badminton medallists among Zambia squad for Birmingham 2022". www.insidethegames.biz. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
12. "Commonwealth Games: Flying start for Malaysia's badminton squad". www.thesundaily.my. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
13. "Badminton – Mixed Team results". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 April 2023.