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 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]
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 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 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]
5 (2 January 2024)
