Manasi Joshi was only six when she started playing badminton with her father. She continued to practise the sport as a hobby and also played at the district level in a few matches. In 2011, she met with an accident and lost her left leg. Today, Manasi is a national and international level para-badminton player. This is her inspiring journey.
At the age of 22, Manasi met with an accident on December 2, 2011. She was riding a two-wheeler on her way to work when a truck hit her and crushed her left leg. By the time she had the surgery, she had lost a lot of blood. The doctors tried to treat her leg but it got infected and had to be amputated. After spending 45 days in the hospital, and learning to walk all over again with the help of crutches, she was back up again – optimistic and hopeful as always. Once her wound was healed, she got a prosthetic leg.
She talks passionately about the time when the love for badminton entered her life:
A resident of Mumbai, Manasi was always interested in science and engineering. She pursued her Bachelor's degree in electronic engineering, developed an interest in software development, and started working as a senior software engineer with Atos India. She continued playing badminton as a hobby, while working full time. Before her accident, she also played at some district level matches.
All this happened at a time when she was still going through rehabilitation and learning to walk. For eight months after getting her prosthetic leg, she continued to use crutches for support. So, it took a few months before she could play at higher level tournaments. In June 2014, Manasi started working out to be fit again. She set daily targets and began weight training and walking. In August 2014, she got the chance to represent Maharashtra at the selection trials for Asian Games 2014. She didn't get selected but that match was a new beginning for her.
In December 2014, Manasi played her first national-level tournament and won a silver medal. It was a very special match for her.
Manasi Girishchandra Joshi and Sukant Kadam made it double delight for Indian parabadminton by winning the gold medal in their respective categories at the VII Spanish Para-Badminton International 2018 held in Alcudia, Mallorca in Spain.
Source and Credit : https://www.thebetterindia.com/45528/para-badminton-player-manasi-joshi.