The Tanzania national badminton team (Swahili: Timu ya taifa ya Tanzania ya mchezo wa badminton) represents Tanzania in international badminton team competitions.[1] Tanzania is one of the first seven founding nations of the Badminton Confederation of Africa.[2] In the 1990s Tanzanian players have made numerous achievements in the African stage, winning two bronze medals at the 1992 African Badminton Championships.
Since the 2000s, the team became inactive from international team tournaments due to insufficient funds which impacted Tanzanian badminton's decrease in popularity. Many regional badminton tournaments, such as the Nyerere Badminton Championships and the Dar Cup have been hosted to revive badminton in Tanzania.[3][4] As of 2022, the national team along with its association is still inactive.[5]
Badminton in Tanzania began in the mid-20th century when the country was still under British rule. After the country gained independence from the British in 1961, the Tanganyika national badminton team was formed and soon competed in tournaments hosted around the country, such as the Tanganyika International.[6] Players were later allowed to compete internationally after the establishment of the Tanzania Badminton Association in 1977.
In the 70s and the 80s, the Tanzanian national team was composed mostly of players of Indian descent like Raju Chiplunkar and Mukesh Shah, who have represented Tanzania in badminton at the Commonwealth Games. In the late 80s, players from Zanzibar who achieved decent results in the sport started to represent the national team. The most notable players from Zanzibar were Mohamed Juma, Nasra Juma and Mselem Juma who have medaled at African championships.
In early 1979, Tanzania sent its men's team to compete in the men's team event at the inaugural African Badminton Championships. The team finished in second place.[7] In June 1979, the team competed in the men's team event at the 1979 WBF World Championships. The team were placed in Group 4 with Thailand, Burma and Mauritius.[8] The team lost 5–0 to Thailand and Burma. In their third playoff, the team lost 3–2 to Mauritius and were eliminated in the group stages.[9]
