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Why would I give up something? 5 best take away we can take from Manasi Joshi
Manasi Girishchandra Joshi is an Indian para-badminton athlete who is World No. 2 by June 2019 in SL3 Singles.“Why would I give up something that I started playing and enjoying as a child?” Manasi Joshi was six when she started playing badminton with her father, a retired scientist from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. She graduated in Electronics Engineering from K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering, University of Mumbai, in 2010 and was working as a software engineer in December 2011 when she was in an accident while riding her motorbike to work, and tragically lost one of her legs in 2011.
She played badminton as part of her rehabilitation and another para-badminton player urged her to try out for the national team; she played her first international tournament in Spain. When working at a bank in Ahmedabad, she also asked the best trainer Pullela Gopichand to train her and enrolled in his badminton academy at Hyderabad in 2018.
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Why would I give up something? Joshi won a silver medal
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 beat her countrywoman Parul Parma to win a gold medal.
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Why would I give up something? A lorry traveling in the wrong direction ran over her leg.
Manasi explained a life-threatening accident boosted her confidence. It was December 2011 and, for 22-year-old Manasi Joshi, a normal Friday morning. She had recently graduated and just started her first job as a software engineer in the hectic Indian metropolis of Mumbai. The house where she lived with her parents was barely 7km from her office, so Manasi would commute to work by motorbike. But that Friday, barely 10 minutes into her journey, disaster struck – as she took a U-turn under a flyover, a lorry traveling in the wrong direction ran over her leg. “I was still conscious after it happened. I managed to sit up and take my helmet off. I immediately knew my injuries were serious,” she says. People rushed to the spot but no-one really knew what to do. “Indians are helpful by nature but they are not very skilled, especially in emergency situations.
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Why would I give up something? My family has never ever said ‘no’ to me.
“My family has never ever said ‘no’ to me. They have always encouraged me to do whatever pleases me, in a sense, they were the wind beneath my wings. Skills you learn while playing a sport remain with you for the rest of one’s life and that’s what happened to me. Sport taught me some of the most important skills, for example, to accept the current loss and try and win another time. Once you accept the loss, it’s extremely easy to adapt to new things even if it is a disability. I also followed a yoga and meditation regimen for myself in those days when I was recovering from the accident,” she said.
The main challenge that she faced was not so much the accessibility, but the insensitivity of people towards disability. I feel we in India have a long way to go in accepting disabled people into the mainstream. She is also A huge fan of PV Sindhu, ever since Manasi started competing at the international level, she has never returned without a medal.
Advice to the young generation people – Don’t lose hope
Giving advice to the young generation, a confident Manasi said, “People lose hope because there are people around them who tell them that it will be difficult. I want to tell everyone that it is really easy. If you think you want to do it, you will find people who will help you and make you reach where you are supposed to go. Things are extremely easy. All we require is honesty and patience.”
Every Indian is proud of you, Manasi!
5 best take away we can take or Learn from Manasi Are
- Why would I give up something that I started playing and enjoying as a child?
- She won a Silver medal in Para-Badminton World Championship 2019 in Base in spite of disability.
- Why would I give up something? A lorry traveling in the wrong direction ran over her leg, and because of sports spirit and her family support took to the heights of her carrier.
- Sport taught her the most important skills, for example, to accept the current loss and try and win another time. Once you accept the loss, it’s extremely easy to adapt to new things even if it is a disability.
- Giving advice to the young generation. People lose hope because there are people around them who tell them that it will be difficult. I want to tell everyone that it is really easy.
