Mahoor Shahzad (born 17 October 1996) is a Pakistani

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

player. She has competed at the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games (), officially known as the 17th Asian Games () and also known as Incheon 2014 (), were a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 19 September to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 17 April 2007, Incheon was awarded ...

, and also at the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

. She represented

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo after receiving a tripartite invitation, becoming the first Pakistani badminton player to compete at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. She was also Pakistan's flag bearer at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

along with the sports shooter Muhammad Khalil Akhtar.

Education

Shahzad graduated from the

Institute of Business Administration, Karachi The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi; (انسٹيٹيوٹ آف بزنس ايڈمنسٹريشن) is a public university in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. IBA is owned by Government of Sindh. Established initially as a business scho ...

in 2018, with Economics and Mathematics as her subjects.

Career

Shahzad began playing badminton in 2008 in Karachi. She is a six-time national badminton champion of Pakistan. She won the women's singles titles at the 2017 and 2019 editions of the Pakistan International Series.

Achievements

BWF International Challenge/Series (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

''Women's singles'' ''Women's doubles'' :

BWF International Challenge The BWF International Challenge is a grade 3 and level 1 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Series (level 2) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament :

BWF International Series The BWF International Series is a grade 3 and level 2 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Challenge (level 1) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament :

BWF Future Series The BWF Future Series is a grade 3 and level 3 tournaments part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Challenge (level 1) and International Series (level 2), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament

Personal life

Shahzad's father, Muhammad Shahzad, is an

indoor rower An indoor rower, or rowing machine, is a machine used to simulate the action of watercraft rowing for the purpose of exercise or training for rowing. Modern indoor rowers are known as ergometers (colloquially erg or ergo) because they measure ...

athlete. Her sister, Rabia Shahzad, is a

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

who has won several international medals for Pakistan.

Controversy

During

, Shahzad posted a video in which she was seen saying that while she has received praise for her achievements, there were some local badminton players who were jealous of her and acted like "

Pathans Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

". She received a lot of criticism for ridiculing her fellow players and by extension, an entire ethnicity. After the backlash, she posted another video and apologized.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shahzad, Mahoor 1996 births Living people Pakistani female badminton players Olympic badminton players for Pakistan Badminton players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for Pakistan Badminton players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Badminton players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Asian Games competitors for Pakistan Badminton players at the 2014 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2018 Asian Games Badminton players at the 2022 Asian Games South Asian Games bronze medalists for Pakistan South Asian Games medalists in badminton Medalists at the 2019 South Asian Games Institute of Business Administration, Karachi alumni Racket sportspeople from Karachi