When Manasi Joshi got hit by a truck in 2011, she lost her leg. But, didn't lose her confidence.
Her only fear was that she wouldn’t be able to play badminton. But, Joshi defied all odds to win several medals at the National level. This year, the 26-year-old won Silver in the Para Badminton World Championship held in England.
The Mumbai girl's inspirational story was shared by Humans of Bombay last evening. The story has gone viral with over 13,000 shares.
In fact, she has become so popular on social media now that she's getting marriage proposals and job offers too.
Joshi's leg had to be amputated after that fateful accident in 2011. But, she didn’t blame the driver or the doctors. She simply accepted her fate.
"What got me through this whole ordeal is acceptance — that this is my fate, now I can either choose to cry about it, or take it with a pinch of salt and push myself…I picked the latter. In fact when people used to come to visit me in the hospital and get emotional — I would tell them jokes to make them laugh," she told Humans Of Bombay.
Joshi has been playing badminton since she was ten. Having won several competitions at school, college and district level — she wouldn't let anything get between her and her passion for the game.
"Badminton gives me a sense of freedom. For an athlete not having a completely functional leg is very difficult. However, badminton is my sport and I will do everything it takes to master it, with or without a leg," Joshi told DNA.
The 26-year-old took physiotherapy, and began to learn how to walk all over again.
"Somehow even while I was facing difficulty in walking…I could play. I began winning corporate badminton tournaments, and on the suggestion of one of my amputee friends decided to try out at a National Level," she said.
Joshi has a regular job at an IT company in Vikroli where she works as a software engineer. She trains for hours before her tournaments, has almost completed her training in scuba diving travelled pretty much all over India.
She is now preparing for national games in December and International championship in Turkey next year.
When people ask her how she does so much, her response is — "what’s stopping you?"
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