The Belarus national badminton team (Belarusian: Зборная Беларусі па бадмінтону) represents Belarus in international badminton team competitions.[1] The Belarusian team is managed by the Belarusian Badminton Federation (BBF) which organizes badminton championships and prepares Belarusian national badminton teams. The team was formed in 1992 after the association was found.
Belarusian-born player, Nadieżda Kostiuczyk won Belarus a gold medal at the European Junior Badminton Championships along with compatriot Olga Roj. Belarus made its badminton debut in the 1996 Summer Olympics. Mikhail Korchouk and Vlada Tcherniavskaia were the first few players to represent Belarus in Olympic badminton.
History
[edit]
Badminton was first played in the 1960s in Belarus. The Belarusian Badminton Federation was established in 1962 and the Belarusian team then competed in the USSR National Badminton Championships. Belarus once hosted the USSR National Badminton Championships in early 1962 in Minsk. The first Belarusian Republic Championships were hosted in November 1962 in Mogilev to pick the best players for the Belarusian team.[2]
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the national team started to compete in international team events. The team made one of their first international appearances at the 1995 Sudirman Cup. The team then became part of Badminton Europe and started to compete in the European Badminton Championships team events since the 2000s.
In 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) banned all Belarusian players and officials from BWF events, and cancelled all BWF tournaments in Belarus.[3] On 29 August 2023, BWF announced that Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete as neutrals starting 26 February 2024.
Men's team
[edit]
The Belarusian men's team competed in the 1994 Thomas Cup qualifying rounds. The team topped their group in the first round and advanced to the second round. The team then lost 5–0 to Russia and Denmark in the second round.[4] The team then failed to advance to the semi-finals again for the 1996 Thomas Cup qualifiers.[4] In the qualifiers for the 1998 Thomas Cup, the team won 3–2 against Peru and 5–0 against Greece but lost to the United States 5–0 in the first stage.[4]
The Belarusian men's team made their first appearance at the European Men's Team Championships in 2006. The team were grouped with Germany, Portugal and Finland but were eliminated in the group stages after losing 5–0 to all three teams.[5]
Women's team
[edit]
The Belarusian women's team took part in qualifying for the 1994 Uber Cup. Although the team did not get past the first stage, they managed to defeat South Africa 4–1 in the group.[6] In 1998, the team tried to qualify for the 1998 Uber Cup. The team almost advanced to the second stage after beating Czech Republic and Belgium 5–0 and almost defeating Norway.
The Belarus women's team competed in the 2006 European Women's Team Championships. The team were eliminated in the group stages. The team then competed in the 2020 European Women's Team Badminton Championships. The team placed third in the group after winning 3–2 against Israel.[7]
Mixed team
[edit]
The Belarusian mixed team first competed in the 1995 Sudirman Cup. The team performed decently and topped Group 9 to finish in 35th place. The team then competed in the 1997 Helvetia Cup and achieved 13th place. In 2001, the team finished in 5th place at the 2001 Helvetia Cup. The mixed team made their first European Mixed Team Badminton Championships appearance in 2009. The team placed second in the group after winning 5–0 against Latvia and Norway.[8]
Competitive record
[edit]
Thomas Cup
[edit]
Year
Round
Pos
1949
Part of the Soviet Union
1952
1955
1958
1961
1964
1967
1970
1973
1976
1979
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
Part of the CIS
1994
Did not qualify
1996
1998
2000
Did not enter
2002
2004
Did not qualify
2006
2008
Did not enter
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
Banned
2024
2026
TBD
2028
2030
Uber Cup
[edit]
Year
Round
Pos
1957
Part of the Soviet Union
1960
1963
1966
1969
1972
1975
1978
1981
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
Part of the CIS
1994
Did not qualify
1996
1998
2000
2002
Did not enter
2004
2006
Did not qualify
2008
2010
2012
2014
Did not enter
2016
Did not qualify
2018
2020
2022
Banned
2024
2026
TBD
2028
2030
Sudirman Cup
[edit]
Year
Round
Pos
1989
Part of the Soviet Union
1991
1993
Did not enter
1995
Group stage
35th
1997
Group stage
31st
1999
Group stage
29th
2001
Group stage
33rd
2003
Did not enter
2005
2007
Group stage
43rd
2009
Did not enter
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019
2021
2023
Banned
2025
TBD
2027
2029
European Team Championships
[edit]
Men's team
[edit]
Year
Round
Pos
2004
Group stage
27th
2006
Group stage
2008
Did not enter
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2024
Banned
2026
TBD
2028
2030
Women's team
[edit]
Year
Round
Pos
2004
Did not enter
2006
Group stage
2008
Group stage
2010
Group stage
2012
Group stage
2014
Did not enter
2016
Group stage
2018
Group stage
2020
Group stage
2024
Banned
2026
TBD
2028
2030
Mixed team
[edit]
Year
Round
Pos
1972
Part of the Soviet Union
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
Part of the CIS
1994
Did not enter
1996
1998
Did not qualify
2000
Did not enter
2002
Did not qualify
2004
2006
2008
Did not enter
2009
Group stage
2011
Group stage
2013
Group stage
2015
Did not qualify
2017
Did not enter
2019
2021
2023
Banned
2025
TBD
2027
2029
Helvetia Cup
[edit]
Year
Round
Pos
1962
Part of the Soviet Union
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
Did not enter
1995
1997
Group stage
13th
1999
Did not enter
2001
Group stage
5th
2003
Group stage
7th
2005
Group stage
8th
2007
Did not enter
**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Junior competitive record
[edit]
Suhandinata Cup
[edit]
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
Group stage
24th
2017
Did not enter
2018
2019
Group stage
31st
2022
Banned
2023
2024
European Junior Team Championships
[edit]
See also: European Junior Badminton Championships
Mixed team
[edit]
Year
Round
Pos
1975
Part of the Soviet Union
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
Did not enter
1995
1997
Did not qualify
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
Did not enter
2011
2013
2015
2017
2018
2020
2022
Banned
2024
Finlandia Cup
[edit]
Mixed team
[edit]
Year
Round
Pos
1984
Part of the Soviet Union
1986
1988
1990
1992
Part of the CIS
1994
Did not enter
1996
Group stage
9th
1998
Group stage
5th
2000
Group stage
6th
2002
Group stage
9th
2004
Group stage
11th
2006
Group stage
13th
**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Staff
[edit]
The following list shows the coaching staff for the Belarus national badminton team.