# Wales national badminton team

The Wales national badminton team (Welsh: Tîm badminton cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in international badminton team competitions. 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.
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.

### 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. The men's team returned to qualify for the 1984 Thomas Cup after a long hiatus. 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.
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.
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. 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. The team were defeated by Germany in the quarter-finals.

### 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. 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. The women's team entered the second round for the next few Uber Cup qualifiers but did not advance further.
The women's team also competed in the 2006 European Women's Team Badminton Championships. They failed to get past the group stages.

### 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. The team also competed in the inaugural edition of the European Mixed Team Badminton Championships in 1972 but were eliminated in the group stages. 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. The team entered the Helvetia Cup finals two consecutive times in 1985 and 1987 but lost to the Netherlands and Germany respectively.

## Competitive record
### Helvetia Cup

| Year | Round | Pos |
| 1962 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1963 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1964 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1965 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1966 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1967 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1968 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 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 | Did not enter |
| 1997 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1999 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2001 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2003 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2005 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2007 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
    **Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

## Junior competitive record
### Suhandinata Cup

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

### Commonwealth Youth Games
#### Mixed team

| Year | Round | Pos |
| 2004 | Did not enter | Did not enter |

### European Junior Team Championships
#### Mixed team

| Year | Round | Pos |
| 1975 | Group stage | 11th |
| 1977 | Did not enter | 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 | Did not qualify |
| 1999 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2001 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2003 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2005 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2007 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2009 | Group stage | 18th |
| 2011 | Group stage | 29th |
| 2013 | Group stage | 21st |
| 2015 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2017 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2018 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2020 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2022 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2024 | TBD | 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 | 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 |
| Daniel Font | Head coach |
| Luke Bailey | Support coach |
| Chris Rees | Performance coach |

## Players
### Current squad

    As of 2 January 2024

#### Men's team

| Name | DoB/Age | Ranking of event | Ranking of event | Ranking of event |
| Name | DoB/Age | MS | MD | XD |
| Andrew Oates | (1999-07-29) 29 July 1999 (age 25) | - | 941 | 478 |
| Archie Bult | (2003-04-11) 11 April 2003 (age 21) | 988 | - | - |
| Andrew Jones | (1997-10-11) 11 October 1997 (age 27) | - | 1229 | - |
| Adam Stewart | (1996-03-18) 18 March 1996 (age 28) | - | 1229 | - |
| Mebel Mano Kurian | (2009-01-01) 1 January 2009 (age 16) | 1217 | 1181 | - |
| Jewel Mano Varughese | (2006-01-02) 2 January 2006 (age 19) | 1561 | 1181 | - |
| Harper Leigh | (2006-09-01) 1 September 2006 (age 18) | 1195 | - | - |
| Scott Oates | (1998-04-10) 10 April 1998 (age 26) | - | 941 | - |

#### Women's team

| Name | DoB/Age | Ranking of event | Ranking of event | Ranking of event |
| Name | DoB/Age | WS | WD | XD |
| Jordan Hart | (1995-01-26) 26 January 1995 (age 30) | 535 | - | - |
| Jessica Ding | (2003-11-27) 27 November 2003 (age 21) | 1134 | - | - |
| Learna Herkes | (2003-10-13) 13 October 2003 (age 21) | - | - | - |
| Jasmine Owen | (2004-03-04) 4 March 2004 (age 20) | - | - | - |
| Aimie Whiteman | (2003-05-23) 23 May 2003 (age 21) | - | - | - |
| Saffron Morris | (2007-07-03) 3 July 2007 (age 17) | 373 | 336 | 478 |
| Alice Palmer | (1992-02-26) 26 February 1992 (age 32) | - | - | - |
| Katie Whiteman | (2000-10-13) 13 October 2000 (age 24) | - | - | - |

### Previous squads
#### Sudirman Cup

* 2007

#### European Team Championships

* Men's team: 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2020
* Women's team: 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2020
* Mixed team: 2006, 2009, 2011, 2013