Zimbabwe national badminton team

Zimbabwe

Association	Badminton Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ)
Confederation	BCA (Africa)
President	Chipo Zumburani
BWF ranking
Current ranking	71 3 (2 April 2024)
Highest ranking	55 (3 January 2023)
African Mixed Team Championships
Appearances	6 (first in 1980 )
Best result	Fifth place (1980)
African Men's Team Championships
Appearances	4 (first in 1980 )
Best result	Fifth place (1980)
African Women's Team Championships
Appearances	4 (first in 1980 )
Best result	Champions (1980)

The Zimbabwe national badminton team (Shona : Chikwata chenyika cheZimbabwe badminton) represents Zimbabwe in international team competitions and is controlled by the Zimbabwe Badminton Association, the governing body for Zimbabwean badminton. ^[1] It is affiliated with the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA). ^[2]

History

Badminton was first played in Zimbabwe around the early 1960s. The national team was revived in 2008 after the reformation of the Zimbabwe Badminton Association. ^[3] The national team competed in the 2014 African Badminton Championships.

Men's team

The Zimbabwean men's team competed in the 2016 Africa Continental Team Badminton Championships. The team were grouped with South Africa, Mauritius and Réunion in Group A. The team finished on the bottom of the group and failed to advance to the quarter-finals. ^[4] The team were also eliminated in the group stages two years later at the 2018 All Africa Men's Team Badminton Championships. ^[5]

The team competed in the 2022 All Africa Men's Team Badminton Championships. They lost 5–0 to Mauritius and Zambia. ^[6]

Women's team

In 1980, Zimbabwe clinched the women's team title at the 1980 African Badminton Championships in Beira after defeating Tanzania, Mozambique, Nigeria and Kenya. ^[7]

In 2016, the women's team competed in the 2016 Africa Continental Team Badminton Championships. The team lost 5–0 to Mauritius and Ghana in the group stages. ^[8] They competed in the 2022 All Africa Men's Team Badminton Championships. The team were grouped with Uganda, Egypt and Algeria. The team lost all of their matches to the opposing teams. ^[9]

Mixed team

Zimbabwe debuted in the 1982 Commonwealth Games. They were eliminated in the group stages. ^[10]

The mixed team competed at the 2014 African Badminton Championships. The team were drawn into Group A with South Africa, Seychelles, Botswana and Cameroon. The team first lost 5–0 to South Africa, then won 3–2 against the Cameroonian team. The team later lost 5–0 to Botswana and Seychelles, thus failing to qualify for the quarter-finals. ^{[11] [12]}

The team made their fourth appearance at the African Mixed Team Championships in 2023. The team placed as third best in the group after winning their tie against Lesotho. ^{[13] [14]}

Competitive record

Thomas Cup Year Round Pos 1949 to 1964 Part of the   United Kingdom 1967 to 2012 Did not enter 2014 Did not qualify 2016 2018 2020 Did not enter 2022 Did not qualify 2024 Did not enter 2026 To be determined 2028 2030

Uber Cup Year Round Pos 1957 to 1963 Part of the   United Kingdom 1966 to 2012 Did not enter 2014 Did not qualify 2016 2018 2020 Did not enter 2022 Did not qualify 2024 Did not enter 2026 To be determined 2028 2030

Sudirman Cup Year Round Pos 1989 to 2021 Did not enter 2023 Did not qualify 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 Did not enter 1982 Group stage 11th 1986 Did not enter 1990 1994 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 To be determined

African Games

Mixed team

Year	Round	Pos
2003	Did not enter
2007
2011
2015
2019
2027	To be determined

African Team Championships

Men's team Year Round Pos 1979 Did not enter 1980 Fifth place 5th 1982 Did not enter 1984 1988 2016 Group stage 7th 2018 Group stage 12th 2020 Did not enter 2022 Group stage 10th 2024 Did not enter 2026 To be determined 2028 2030

Women's team Year Round Pos 1979 Did not enter 1980 Champions 1st 1982 Did not enter 1984 1988 2016 Group stage 6th 2018 Group stage 7th 2020 Did not enter 2022 Group stage 7th 2024 Did not enter 2026 To be determined 2028 2030

Mixed team Year Round Pos 1980 Fifth place 5th 1982 Did not enter 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2007 2009 Group stage 2011 Did not enter 2013 2014 Group stage 8th 2017 Group stage 9th 2019 Group stage 9th 2021 Did not enter 2023 Group stage 9th 2025 To be determined 2027 2029

**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
2004
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
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 Did not enter

African Junior Team Championships

Mixed team

Year	Round	Pos
1979	Did not enter
1980
1982
1984
1993	Fifth place	5th
1995	Did not enter
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013
2016
2021
2022
2024	To be determined

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

Staff

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

Name	Role
Paul Kopolo	Coach

Players

Current squad

As of 2 January 2024

Men's team

Name	DoB/Age	Ranking of event
		MS	MD	XD
Ashel Dziva	(1995-05-02) 2 May 1995 (age 29)	1057	525	–
Trinity Chipumho	(1999-12-14) 14 December 1999 (age 25)	517	–	–
Thabani Mathe	(1997-07-15) 15 July 1997 (age 27)	451	525	567
Blessing Mahwire	(2003-11-18) 18 November 2003 (age 21)	705	–	–
Dean Matyanga	(1998-02-20) 20 February 1998 (age 26)	–	–	–

Women's team

Name	DoB/Age	Ranking of event
		WS	WD	XD
Fabiana Layla Oliviero	(1994-09-16) 16 September 1994 (age 30)	586	915	567
Avishi Raina	(2005-07-27) 27 July 2005 (age 19)	790	–	–
Shalom Sibanda	(2000-03-31) 31 March 2000 (age 24)	577	915	–
Nyasha Kopolo	(1999-11-23) 23 November 1999 (age 25)	–	–	–
Rumbidzai Ruwende	(2001-01-20) 20 January 2001 (age 24)	–	–	–

Previous squads

African Team Championships

• Men's team: 2016, 2018, 2022
• Women's team: 2016, 2018, 2022
• Mixed team: 2014, 2017, 2023

References

1. "Africa Team Championships 2014". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
2. "Members | BWF Corporate" . Retrieved 26 February 2023.
3. "About Us". Badminton Association of Zimbabwe. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
4. "BWF – Africa Continental Team Championships 2016 – General". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
5. "BWF – All Africa Men's and Women's Team Championships 2018 – General". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
6. "BWF – All Africa Men's & Women's Team Championships 2022 – General". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
7. Maclaren, I.P. (1982). More Rhodesian Senior Schools. Books of Zimbabwe. pp. 29, 37. ISBN   9780869202609.
8. "BWF – Africa Continental Team Championships 2016 – General". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
9. "BWF – All Africa Men's & Women's Team Championships 2022 – General". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
10. "Badminton Team Event – Mixed Brisbane 1982". thecgf.com. Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
11. "African Senior Badminton Championships 2014 -Archive -Seychelles Nation". www.nation.sc. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
12. "BWF – Africa Team Championships 2014 – Team: Zimbabwe – General". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
13. "BWF – All Africa Mixed Team Championships 2023 – Team matches". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
14. "BWF – All Africa Mixed Team Championships 2023 – General". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 11 April 2023.