National badminton team representing Burundi
Burundi |
Association | Fédération Burundaise de Badminton (FBB) |
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Confederation | BCA (Africa) |
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President | Ndondo Francois Abedi |
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Current ranking | Unranked (2 January 2024) |
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Highest ranking | 89 (1 July 2011) |
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Appearances | 1 (first in 2010) |
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Best result | Group stage |
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Appearances | 1 (first in 2010) |
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Best result | Semi-finals (2010) |
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The Burundi national badminton team (Kirundi: Ikipe y'igihugu ya badminton yo mu Burundi) represents Burundi in international badminton team competitions.[1][2] The Burundian Federation of Badminton manages the national team. The Burundian team have competed in the 2010 Thomas & Uber Cups Preliminaries for Africa where the Burundian women's team reached the semifinals and won bronze.
History
Badminton first started in Burundi in the 1950s when the nation was still under colonial rule. The sport was then played by a small minority of white people in Bujumbura, and by Catholic priests in other parts of the country. The sport then spread its popularity to the city of Bubanza and the youth began to play badminton regularly outside football fields.[3]
In 2010, the Burundian Federation of Badminton sent its first few players to debut in the 2010 Thomas & Uber Cups Preliminaries for Africa. In 2012, the Burundian Federation of Badminton along with the national team were disbanded for a brief period of time due to the country being under political turmoil. In 2021, Burundi partnered with the Badminton Confederation of Africa and joined the Shuttle Time program organized by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to improve the presence of badminton in Burundi.[3][4][5]
Men's team
The Burundian men's team first competed in the 2010 Thomas & Uber Cups Preliminaries for Africa. The team failed to advance further after being defeated by South Africa and Ghana in the group stage.[6]
Women's team
The Burundian women's team debuted in the 2010 Thomas & Uber Cups Preliminaries for Africa. Although the team lost to South Africa in the group stage, they were able to advance further to the quarter-finals.[7] The team then entered the semi-finals after Seychelles conceded a walkover to the team.[8] The team then lost the semi-final tie to Egypt but won bronze in the event.[9]