If you are 24 and go to Tokyo Olympics for badminton, and lose, you still comeback to your country as a star. But Pakistan’s Mahoor Shahzad came back, made a video, got trolled and has been saying sorry since. She said the rest of the badminton contingent in Pakistan is plotting against her and is jealous of her, much like ‘pathans’.
Here’s what happened.
Shahzad didn’t take her losses at the Olympics well (she was defeated by Britain’s Kirsty Gilmour and Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in straight sets on 27 and 24 July respectively). Soon after her defeat on 27 July, she went on to post a 21-second-long video boasting her greatness and how every other Pakistani shuttler hates her because she’s the best — some serious allegations there.
In the video, Shahzad can be seen saying, “logon ne mujhe bohot appreciate bhi kiya hai lekin, ye jo humare Badminton players hain jo bilkul Pathan hain… aur Pakistan mein kyunki aaj mai number one hu… aur Olympics kheli hu toh humare jo baaki Pakistani badminton players hain… wo bohot zyada jealous hain ki mai iss mukaam tak kaise pahunch gayi. Matlab Pakistan mein ye bohot hai… ki khud nahi karna aur dusre ko bhi nahi karne dena (Since I am reigning supreme in Pakistan, Pakistani badminton players… who are typical Pathans…. Are jealous of how I have scaled such heights. This is the habit of Pakistanis, they don’t let anyone else rise)”
Here is our flag bearer https://t.co/nvnEWkPrFu pic.twitter.com/sIGnHQWRDs
— Naimat Khan (@NKMalazai) July 28, 2021
Why ‘Pathans’? Who knows, but there’s no point searching for logic behind bigotry.
Not to say Shahzad isn’t successful — she’s the first badminton player from Pakistan to have qualified for the Olympics and is ranked amongst the top 133 in the world. Shahzad said she would have been among the top 100 players, had Covid not made things difficult.
Also read: Who let the dog out? This Pakistani town is in a tizzy looking for commissioner’s lost pet
Bigotry followed by apology
Just about five days ago, Shahzad was the flag bearer of her country in Tokyo, and shared the honour with shooter Khalil Akhtar. But after her video accusing fellow shuttlers back home of defaming her, she’s been busy saying sorry on social media — surprise surprise — many Pakistanis took major offence.
This racist "number one" parchi through out the olympics couldn't even win half a set and has the audacity to look down upon pashtuns by calling them "bilkul pathan" as if they are inferior, shame on her ugly existence https://t.co/gaz28v9blz
— Sher Khan (@SherKhan04) July 29, 2021
Racism against Pashtuns is a reality in Pakistan … admit it to change it. Here’s a little proof of a Pakistani player representing Pakistan in the world and racially profiling fellow Pakistani citizens.
Consciously change this now. Bring changes in yourself first. https://t.co/nZT5a2GLeK
— Meena Gabeena (@gabeenaa) July 29, 2021
Ridiculous, Repulsive& Venomous statement filled wid biases against Pashtun ethnicity by Badminton Champion @OfficialMahoor representing Pak in #TokyoOlympics as an amb
Just a clarification isn’t enough& ban or fine be imposed
Disappointed to know Mahnoor is @ibakarachi graduate https://t.co/c1MECYXwbD
— Owais Tohid (@OwaisTohid) July 29, 2021
Though she apologised for making a racist remark in her 2-minute-long video, Shahzad maintained Pakistani Badminton world hates her and has run negative campaigns against her. “I am writing this apology for my Pathan brothers… In no way I intend to pass any racist comments. There are some Pakistani badminton players who are running a negative campaign against me, so I only referred to them in this video.” she said in a post.
Shahzad, in her apology video, says jealous badminton players have wrongfully accused her father of bribing the Pakistani Badminton Federation: “I was dubbed the blue-eyed person of the PBF and have no skills to compete in the Olympics despite the fact that I am the national badminton champion for the last five years and have beaten girls with big margins”
Yesterday I apologised on my social media platforms formally as it was not possible to record a message.
Therefore, I recorded a video message as an apology to those who got hurt from my words.
Kindly watch the video and I hope the video will clear the misunderstandings! pic.twitter.com/iCZE5xUrzx
— Mahoor Shahzad (@OfficialMahoor) July 28, 2021
Yesterday I apologised on my social media platforms formally as it was not possible to record a message.
Therefore, I recorded a video message as an apology to those who got hurt from my words.
Kindly watch the video and I hope the video will clear the misunderstandings! pic.twitter.com/iCZE5xUrzx
— Mahoor Shahzad (@OfficialMahoor) July 28, 2021
Pashtuns are the second largest ethnic group in Pakistan who have often faced systematic discrimination and oppression in the country.