The para-badminton World championship gold speaks about the fruition of a journey of learning about inner-self and of how the human body adapts to challenges, says Manasi Joshi.

The Mumbai resident, who picked up the singles gold in SL3 category final in Basel recently, says the World title is giving her the confidence to qualify and try for a medal in the mixed doubles category of Tokyo Paralympic Games next year.

“So long it has been a journey of learning about the inner self and how human body can adapt to different situations it encounters and how we can push ourselves for the betterment of self and society,” Manasi said on the sidelines of the Kolkata leg of ProKabaddi League where she has been a special invitee.

New meaning

An engineer by profession, Manasi says badminton has given a new meaning to her life. “I never thought I will progress in the field of sports. I got into it for my personal growth and it took me to a level where I am representing my country now,” said the 30-year-old champion who lost her left leg in an accident in 2011.

Asked about her next goal, she says it is to qualify to the Tokyo Paralympics. “This is a Paralympics year and I have six tournaments to secure the qualification. I have won a singles gold in the World Championship, but unfortunately my singles event is not a Paralympics event so, I am focusing on mixed-doubles for Tokyo (with Rakesh Pandey), she said.

“Our current ranking in the world is 13 and we need to be in the top-six to make it to Tokyo. It is a difficult task as the competition at this level is really stiff. We are working hard as a team and hopefully will make the grade,” said Manasi who has had a World para-badminton silver in 2015.