Pakistan's Mahoor Shahzad eyes Tokyo 2020 after world's top 150 ranking milestone
August 08, 2019
KARACHI: Treasured national badminton champion, Mahoor Shahzad, is now eyeing Tokyo 2020 games next year after she became Pakistan’s first woman to be ranked among the world's top 150 players.
Talking to Geo.tv, Mahoor spoke of her milestone and her goals for the future, as well as her gratitude to God for "the ability and determination to reach where I am today".
"I always knew there was no shortcut to hard work and so I have worked hard enough to achieve this milestone," she said. The badminton player noted that she was still very much driven for success and "looking ahead because it's still a long way to go".
The road to building successes, she added, was why her "long-term goal is to constantly improve my rank and move up the ladder".
An alumna of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi, Mahoor explained that at the moment, she was aiming for a major milestone. She said: "I am, however, currently aiming for the holy grail - qualification for Summer Olympics 2020!!
"Every day is a struggle and I'm working extremely hard to represent Pakistan in Tokyo next summer," she told Geo.tv.
Earlier this week, the 22-year-old — who has won 25 matches to date in her career — was ranked at 149 of world's top 150 badminton players. She recently played in Benin and Ivory Coast.
She made the announcement on her Twitter account: "With immense pleasure I inform you all that my world ranking has increased to 149 Alhumdulillah, making me the first ever female badminton player of Pakistan to reach 150 in the world ranking."
Mahoor represented Pakistan in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia in which she participated in the women’s singles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles, and mixed team events. She, alongside Sehra Akram and Palwasha Bashir, is one of the top three women badminton players of Pakistan.
After achieving this honour and now determined to play in Tokyo 2020, it seems like Mahoor is unwavering in her goal to make a mark for both herself and her country.
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