Manasi Joshi

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You know how we get upset over little things in our life? The weather being too hot, the autowala charging you extra money in the morning, your food not being tasty enough—we tend to make a mountain out of a molehill for problems which are not really that problematic, don’t we? While we are cribbing about some thing or the other in our life, there are champions like para badminton player Manasi Joshi, who keep on learning and unlearning new things in their lives.



Badminton was always of interest to Manasi, she was only six when she started playing badminton, but she never pursued it seriously. Till her accident in 2011, when she lost her left leg. This is when badminton provided the grit and the will force for her to fight against all curve balls that life threw at her. FII had the wonderful opportunity to take a peek in the life of Manasi Joshi; the Paralypmian.

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MM: How does an average day in the life of Manasi Joshi unfold?

MJ: During off season, I rush for work in the morning and practice badminton thrice a week and go to gym on the other three days. I practice or am in the gym till 9 pm from 6:30pm. I have enrolled into online courses on Coursera and attend them later in the evening after dinner. I usually sleep by 11:30pm.

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MM: What kind of a fitness regime do you follow?
MJ: Most of my workouts concentrate on leg & core strengthening, balance, and coordination. I also use yoga in my stretching routine followed by breathing control & meditation.

MM: Are you focusing on Para-Badminton full time currently?

MJ: Initially I had decided to pursue sports after I left my job in Mumbai. Couldn’t survive much without any financial support from the government. I realised that I needed to earn to fund my own training and maintaining my lifestyle.

So no, while I am representing our country at international tournaments, I am also working to support myself. Currently I am employed with The Gujarat State Cooperative Bank as Assistant Manager in the IT Department of the bank.

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MM: You have a blog where you discuss the details of ranking and the technicalities and the stages of the game. Could you discuss the current situation with regard to sponsorship from the government?

MJ: In Conversation With Manasi Joshi: The Para-Badminton Champion With Indians winning 4 medals at Paralympics Rio 2016, the amount of interest in para-sports has drastically increased. But what we see is that very few sports are getting attention that they rightfully deserve like para-athletics, disabled cricket, para-swimming, etc. Para-badminton is still a little ignored sport with only a few international tournaments which are funded by the government. Also, we get to play a very few (only one) national level tournaments.

As you know the government had spent a huge amount on the Olympics as well as Paralympics Rio 2016, so for our Asian Championship last year in November 2016, players were left on their own and we had to find our own sponsors. We wish the government plans the distribution of funds in such a way that all sports get a certain proportion and we do not have to spend our training time on running around prospective sponsors.

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MM: What do you do if you get any leisure time?

MJ: Try to watch series and catch up on movies. Once a month I take care of my plants too.
I also plan my trips in advance and keep reading about those places. Recently I have started this new hobby- colouring. It helps me to concentrate and is a great stress buster.

MM: You are also enthusiastic about running and scuba diving. Tell us a little about your experiences of scuba diving and running.

MJ: I re-learnt running 4 years after my injury in December 2015, when a running clinic was organised by my rehabilitation and prosthetic provider. We were trained into running by then Paralympian, track & field gold medalist, Henrich Popow from Germany, in a 3 day camp in Mumbai. In those three days we were playing cricket, football, dodge ball, etc. It was an overwhelming experience to be able to do run and play. After that camp, I asked my prosthetic provider to lend me that limb for few more weeks. In those few weeks too, I would go for a run everyday after returning from my work. I was super enthusiastic about running.

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My interest has taken a new shape and now I am learning to swim. I am yet to be a certified diver though. May be after my swimming lessons, I will finish my scuba diving course.



MM: What is the next target that you are aiming for?
MJ: Paralympics at Tokyo 2020
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