The Philippines national badminton team (Filipino: Pambansang koponan ng badminton ng Pilipinas) represents the Philippines in international badminton competitions.[2] It is controlled by the Philippine Badminton Association. Nicknamed Smash Pilipinas, The Filipino team won bronze in the men's and women's team events at the Southeast Asian Games, in 1987 and 1981 respectively.
Badminton has been played in the Philippines since the 1920s when British and American expatriates introduced the sport to the country.[3] The national team was formed after the establishment of the Philippine Badminton Association in 1952. The Philippines made a couple of appearances at the Sudirman Cup in the 2010s.
In 2023, Indonesian coach Chafidz Yusuf was appointed as the doubles coach for the national team.[4]
The Philippines men's team first competed in the qualifiers for the 1984 Thomas Cup. The team were drawn with Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore and lost all of their matches in the group tie. Three years later, the Philippines competed in the 1987 Southeast Asian Games, where the team entered the semifinals for a guaranteed bronze medal but lost 3–0 to Malaysia.[5] In 1992, the Philippines failed to qualify for the 1992 Thomas Cup after losing 4–1 to Pakistan, 5–0 to India and Singapore in the first stage of the qualifiers.[6] In 1997, the Philippines lost the third place tie to Thailand at the Southeast Asian Games.[7] In 1998, The Philippines tried to qualify for the 1998 Thomas Cup. The team shown improvement as they lost 4–1 to Singapore, 3–2 to Australia and won 5–0 against Iran.[6]
The Philippines men's team made their Badminton Asia Team Championships debut in 2016. The team lost 5–0 to South Korea and 4–1 to Hong Kong and were eliminated in the group stages. They made their second appearance at the Asian Team Championships in 2018 and were eliminated in the group stages. The men's team made history when the team beat arch rival Singapore 3–2 to reach the quarterfinals in the 2020 edition of the championships.[8] The team lost to Indonesia 3–0 in the quarter-finals.[9]
The Philippines women's team debuted at the 1981 Southeast Asian Games and entered the semifinals to claim bronze.[10] Ten years later, the women's team entered their second semifinal at the 1991 Southeast Asian Games and finished in fourth place. In 1992, the Philippines competed in the 1992 Uber Cup qualifiers. The team lost 5–0 to New Zealand and Hong Kong but won 5–0 against Tanzania to finish 3rd in the group.[11] In 1998, the Philippines women's team failed to qualify again for the Uber Cup. Much like the men's team, the women's team lost 4–1 to Singapore and 3–2 to Australia but won 4–1 against Mauritius.[11]
The women's team debuted in the Badminton Asia Team Championships in 2018. They were eliminated in the group stages in 2018 and 2020. In 2023, the Philippines women's team competed in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games women's team event in Phnom Penh. In the quarter-finals, the team pulled off a big upset after defeating the Malaysian women's team 3–0 and entered the semi-finalists once again after 42 years.[12] In the semi-finals, the team went up against Indonesia but lost 3–0 to win bronze.[13]
^In the 2023 SEA Games mixed team event, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines were all restricted from entering the competition.
16 (2 January 2024)
Philip Joper Escueta
Chafidz Yusuf