# Zambia national badminton team

The Zambia national badminton team represents Zambia in international badminton team competitions. 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.
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.

### 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.
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.
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.
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. They then lost 3–1 against South Africa at the quarter-final stage.

### 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.

### 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. The team lost 3–0 to rivals South Africa in the semi-finals. In 2018, the Zambian team debuted in the Commonwealth Games mixed team event. 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. The team lost 5–0 to Malaysia. 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. Zambia ended their 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign after losing 4–1 against Jamaica.

## Competitive record
### African Games
#### Mixed team

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

### FISU World University Games
#### Mixed team

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

### World University Team Championships
#### Mixed team

| Year | Round | Pos |
| 2008 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2010 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2012 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2014 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2016 | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2018 | 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 | Group stage | 20th |
| 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 | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| 2015 | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| 2016 | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| 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 | To be determined | To be determined |

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

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

### African Junior Team Championships
#### Mixed team

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