Manasi Joshi can be seen on the cover of Time magazine and has a doll in her picture. Next year she has her eye on Paralympic gold in Tokyo.
The Indian Manasi Joshi lost her leg in a terrible traffic accident, but found her calling – and international recognition – on the badminton court.
Now the inspiring world champion, who featured on the cover of Time magazine and had a unique Barbie doll created in her image, is aiming for Paralympic gold when badminton debuts in Tokyo next year.
Eight years ago, she was a 23-year-old software engineer riding her scooter to work in Mumbai when a truck hit her, bruising her left leg and breaking both arms.
Joshi’s badly injured leg was amputated by doctors and she had to rehabilitate for months to learn to walk again.
But the accident couldn’t harm her spirit, and the young woman was determined to build her strength through her favorite sport: badminton.
“I’ve come a long way”
“It was a journey of learning and accepting different things,” 31-year-old Joshi told AFP news agency in a telephone interview from her home in the western city of Ahmedabad.
“I work hard on things that looked tough but are now a new normal. So I’ve come a long way. “
Joshi’s injured leg was amputated and it took her months of rehabilitation to learn to walk again [Sam Panthaky / AFP]
Three months after the accident, she was fitted with a prosthetic leg and returned to court to pursue her passion.
She started playing badminton at the age of six, using skills that were enhanced by success in school, college and office competitions to regain her edge.
Five months after putting on the artificial limb, Joshi won her first gold in an office tournament against capable players.
“I’ve used more of my mind. I got people going and made sure they give the shuttle to my hand wherever I put it so I can finish the point, ”she said.
“It was a turning point after my injury and the win boosted my confidence.”
Encouraged, with the support of her family, she trained harder and eventually quit software engineering to play badminton all day in 2016.
Two years later she moved to the academy of national coach Pullela Gopichand in Hyderabad and became a member of the Indian para-badminton squad.
Last year Joshi won gold in singles at the Para-Badminton World Championships – which made 2019 a landmark year for India’s female badminton players, with PV Sindhu also winning as world champion.
Joshi expects a new challenge with the COVID-delayed Paralympics in Japan next year [Sam Panthaky / AFP]
Time Magazine featured Joshi on the cover of its Asia edition this month as one of eight global “next generation” leaders.
The American manufacturers of the famous Barbie doll celebrated Joshi’s successes on International Day of the Girls’ Child on October 11 with a Barbie modeled on them.
“I am honored to be a part of all of this. And I think this will inspire people and they will believe that anything is possible, ”Joshi said, adding that the achievements of athletes with different abilities are increasingly recognized.
“The whole story changes.”
Joshi now expects a new challenge with the coronavirus-delayed Paralympics in Japan next year in the mixed doubles and women’s doubles field, as no individual events are played.
She trains six days a week, sometimes twice a day, with brother and trainer Kunjan Joshi and focuses on increasing her strength and endurance.
“These are the people I see are working hard on the entire script [meines Lebens]to change and make sure I give my 100 percent, ”she said.
