Manasi Joshi is an Indian para-badminton player. She is a former world champion in the women's singles SL3 category. In March 2022, she rose to the No. 1 rank in women's singles in the SL3 category. In 2020, the TIME magazine listed her as the Next Generation Leader.
In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18.com, Manasi speaks at length about the performance of the para-athletes at this year's Asian Para Games, how she felt when Mattel recognised her with a Barbie doll, and why she wants to be a voice for people with disability.
What were your first thoughts and emotions when you saw para-athletes performing so well at the recently-concluded Asian Para Games?
Manasi Joshi: India performed really well. We won 111 medals at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou and China and I was one of the contributors, with two. So I think para sports is rising at an exponential rate here in India. If you look at archery, there is Sheetal Devi who became a beacon of hope for everyone after those Asian Para Games. I think this is a very good outcome from the the games that we get one or two people who always lift the spirit of the country by not only performing at the international level but also inspiring one whole generation of people.
Off those 111 medals, two medals were yours. How did you feel when you clinched the two medals?
Manasi Joshi: I worked very hard for the Asian Games, for the whole qualification. It is like a make or break it kind of thing. There are very few tournaments in para-sports and very few tournaments are well recognised And as you know, in para-sports we do not earn money through our medals.
What money comes is from the cash awards from your state. Being from Maharashtra, we do not have much cash incentive.
It would have been great if I could have qualified for the finals ... but I'm very happy to win the bronze medal. Before talking to you, I and my brother were watching my semi-final match and analysing what went wrong that day.
In our event, new people have come in who have been recently classified and who have been performing extremely well. I feel really happy that a person with my kind of disability could reach to this level. In our sport, we have multiple disabilities and for me as an amputee, I feel honoured to be around.
I'm really happy with my performance and in women's doubles we qualified for the final, and won a silver medal. For me and my partner Tulsi, it was a very big opportunity again because we did this new partnership. We're very happy because we won a silver competing with the Olympic gold medalists from Indonesia. In the Asian Games we had won a silver, but just a few days later in Japan we won a gold against them.
From the recent past and present going to a bit of your past... could you tell me about your early life?
Manasi Joshi: Sine you know about Anu Shakti Nagar living, you might be aware that we have great facilities in the colony. We have good sports complexes. All the buildings are equipped with playgrounds. And since childhood we are exposed to a lot of outdoor activities. Even in schools we are exposed to a lot of sports where our PT teachers always encouraged us to play multiple sports.
Not just sports, the overall development of individuals is given a lot of importance in the central school. Even a shy person is gets exposure and they can explore multiple opportunities ... people get a lot of opportunities to participate. So I've been very lucky to be growing up in an area where education is really affordable and there is not much divide in the schooling.
I have been playing badminton. I was also training in football and participating in multiple activities from elocution to rangoli competitions to group singing.
My parents have given me a lot of opportunities by participating in multiple activities. My father was a scientist there in BARC and my mother was a homemaker. We are a family of five. We are three siblings and all of us play one sport or the other.
I met with an accident in 2011 in December and during my rehabilitation in Anu Shakti Nagar we would book courts and play badminton. Our school would encourage us to participate and I would also qualify for state levels.
How did your accident happen?
Manasi Joshi: I don't want to talk too much about my accident ... it's definitely a part of my journey. Life happens... you see.
It was an unfortunate day... for me for my family ... doing the rounds of multiple hospitals and then getting admitted to one. It was a very bad day for me... lost a lot of time, lost a lot of hope. I really wish that we had better road safety in India, better response to emergencies.
The decision making was really poor... the time that we lost was huge. I got transferred from one hospital to other. The accident happened at around 8.30 in the morning and I got operated at around 5.30 in the evening. I don't know to what extent it (the delay) could would have affected the outcome (amputation) but I feel that I would not have had to go through so many surgeries. I underwent total of six surgeries and 45 days of hospitalisation.
How did you feel when you became a world champion in 2019?
Manasi Joshi: I felt as if I had achieved my biggest goal at that time. I had trained for more than one-and-a-half years with Gopi Sir in his academy.
Initially. I was the only person with disability in that academy and over the years I'd built a support system for myself. As soon as I got that support, I won a gold. So I understood that how important it is to build your own support system in the field you are interested in.
How did you feel when Barbie recognised you with one of their limited edition dolls?
Manasi Joshi: It feels great, right? When you get that international kind of recognition, especially coming from Mattel. It's not limited to girls. Now children are exposed to all kind of toys and when Barbie approached me, it felt I'll now register in people's mindsets. You can be anything.
You have used your fame to be the voice for the people with disabilities ...
Manasi Joshi: You have to use your voice. But even if my voice is not heard, I will still speak about it. We have to highlight the issues of your own area, be it as a person with disability.
My issues look very different because the amount of work done in this area is not very visible. Of course now things are changing and we see a lot of newer infrastructure becoming universally accessible. But still... I do not have access to some places if I go on a wheelchair... what is the use of winning so many accolades for the country if you are not able to highlight the issues of your friends?
What should be the responsibility of society towards people with disability?
Manasi Joshi: Change the mindset, break the barrier.
Now, I still see a lot of companies hiring with people with disabilities but they are not getting promoted in the organisation. So the change of mindset from charity to empowerment is needed... a recognition that we all are equal but we are all different at the same time.
Another thing is breaking the physical and the mental barrier. If society breaks the mental barriers then I think there are opportunities in abundance. I'm very targeting that specific word — abundance of opportunities.
Politicians should make us their votebank. They should draft the policies keeping us in mind. I'll go and vote for a party which will promise me and keep us in their agenda.
How has Welspun helped in your journey?
Manasi Joshi: I would not have been here without Welspun's support. I was one of the first few athletes to be supported by them, and without their funding, I would not have been here.
Just last year, I got funded by the government Before that it was always Welspun. My smallest needs are taken care of ... I don't think there is any programme like this in our country which is supporting athletes right from district level.
Finally a message for young upcoming athletes.
Manasi Joshi: Keep on pushing, keep on pursuing the sport that you love and there will be days where you don't want to join or don't want to train... allow the feeling to settle and find the motivation in yourself. It is a lot of work and there might be shortcuts, but in sports it's always every day of training and every day of hard work.
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
First Published: Dec 14, 2023 8:43 PM IST
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