Manasi Joshi
Manasi Joshi is an Indian para-badminton player. She is a former world champion in para badminton women's singles SL3 category. On 8 March 2022, she was ranked world No.1 in women's singles SL3 category.
Early life and background
Manasi was born in Rajkot, Gujarat and she was raised in Anushaktinagar, Mumbai. She graduated in Electronics Engineering from K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering, University of Mumbai, in 2010. A sports lover, Manasi played football and badminton in her school and college life. Joshi started playing badminton when she was six along with her father, a retired scientist from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Over the years she represented her school, college and corporate at various tournaments. After finishing graduation in 2010, she worked as a software engineer until December 2011.Accident
In December 2011, she met with a road accident while riding her motorbike to work, and her leg had to be amputated. After 45 days of hospitalisation, Manasi got discharged from MGM hospital Vashi, Navi Mumbai.Career
Joshi started her sporting journey in 2015 and in 2020, she was ranked world No.2 in women's singles SL3 category. She was selected for Asian Para-Games 2014 and played her first international tournament in Spain. In 2018, she asked Pullela Gopichand to coach her, and enrolled in his badminton academy at Hyderabad. In September 2015, Joshi won a silver medal in mixed doubles at the Para-Badminton World Championship held in Stoke Mandeville, England. In October 2018, she won a bronze medal for India at the Asian Para Games 2018, held in Jakarta, Indonesia. In August 2019, at the Para-Badminton World Championship 2019 in Basel, Switzerland, she won a gold medal. She won a silver medal in the doubles along with Thulasimathi Murugesan and a bronze in the singles SL3 in the 2022 Asian Para Games at Gangzhou, China.Awards and recognition
Manasi was listed as the Next Generation Leader 2020 by TIME Magazine in October 2020 and she appeared on their Asia cover, making her the first para-athlete in the world and the first Indian athlete to be featured on the magazine's cover, for being an advocate of rights for people with disabilities.On the occasion of the International Day of Girl Child, Barbie celebrated Manasi and her achievements by modelling a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll to her likeness to inspire young girls. She has also been recognized by BBC as one of the 100 most inspirational & powerful women across the world in 2020 and was nominated for the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year Award of 2020 alongside P. V. Sindhu, Mary Kom, Vinesh Phogat and Dutee Chand.
- 2017 - Maharashtra Rajya Eklavya Khel Krida Puraskar
- 2019 - National award for Best Sportsperson with Disability
- 2019 - Differently abled athlete of the year award at ESPN India Awards
- 2019 - Times of India Sports award for Best para-athlete of the year
- 2019 - Aces 2020 Sportswoman of the Year Hindu Newspaper
- 2019 – BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year
- 2020 – TIME Next Generation Leader
- 2020 - BBC 100 Women
- 2020 – Forbes India, Self-made Women of 2020
Achievements
World Championships
Women's singles| Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland |  Asian Para GamesWomen's singles
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silver2Efn|This tournament uses a round robin system.