User Profile

Manasi Joshi is an Indian para-badminton player and a world champion. Beginning her sporting journey in 2015, at present, she is ranked No. 4 in Women's Singles SL3. A world champion in 2019, Manasi was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2022, and she has a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll modelled after her likeness. She has won more than 35 medals at international level representing India in Para Badminton with multiple medals at World Championships and Asian Games. In October 2020, she was listed as the Next Generation Leader by TIME Magazine and appeared on their Asia cover, making her the first para-athlete in the world and the first Indian athlete to receive such recognition. Manasi is an engineer by qualification, and she has worked as a software developer with MNCs, banks, etc. She did her schooling at Atomic Energy Central Schools, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, India, and graduated from KJ Somaiya College of Engineering in 2010. From setting examples to breaking stereotypes, she has been a trailblazer ever since she took up para-sports following a road accident. Manasi has been conferred the National Award for Best Sportsperson with Disability (female) by the Government of India in 2019 and Shiv Chatrapati Maharashtra Rajya Eklavya Khel Krida Puraskar by the state of Maharashtra in 2017. She was named Para-athlete of the Year by the Times of India Sports Award (TOISA) in 2019. ESPN India honoured her as Differently Abled Athlete of the Year in 2019. She has been recognised by the BBC among the 100 Women of 2020. The same year, she was named Self-Made Women of 2020 by Forbes India. In April 2022, she was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.