Mahoor eyes sixth consecutive national title

The National Badminton Championship will take place from 01-06 March in Lahore at the Captain Fasih Babar Amin (Shaheed) Sports Complex.

Around 300 athletes, including both men and women, belonging to different parts of the country will participate in the event.

At least fourteen teams will participate in the National Badminton Championship in the team event.

Muhammad Ali Larosh will enter the event as the defending champion in the men’s event. He defeated Irfan Saeed in the singles final with a score of 15-21, 21-17, 27-25.

On the other hand, Mahoor Shahzad will be looking to defend her singles title in the women’s category as she is determined to become the national badminton champion for the sixth consecutive time.

The 25-year-old won the semifinal and the final in the last year’s event with a score of 21-6, 21-13, and 21-6, 21-7, respectively.

The national champion had to withdraw from the finals of All Pakistan Badminton Ranking Tournament 2021 to a hamstring injury.

According to Mahoor, she has not fully recovered from the injury, but still plans to compete in both the singles and doubles events at the National Badminton Championship.

Talking to BOL News, Mahoor said that she has started practising in the court as a part of the preparations for the championship.

The 25-year-old acknowledges that playing with injury is a risk but the national championship is held once a year and she does not want to miss this opportunity.

“I also have to participate in the Commonwealth Games in July later this year and also in the Asian Games in September,” she added.

She said that she is hoping to win the title for the sixth time and has been number one in Pakistan for the last six years. However, she last won the doubles title back in 2020.

Asma Butt currently holds the record for most women’s singles titles, having won the national badminton championship nine times.