Para-shuttler Manasi Joshi shares pictures of special Barbie doll modeled after her

Para-badminton champion Manasi Joshi has taken the world by storm in the last five years. Since her first major win at the Para-Badminton World Championships, Manasi Joshi has been an inspiration not just for para-athletes, but for every girl around the globe. After her inclusion in the list of ‘Next Generation Leaders’ by Time Magazine earlier this week, Manasi Joshi has now been honoured with a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll modelled on her.

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Manashi Joshi receives rare honour from Barbie

When an accident in 2011 led Manasi Joshi to losing her leg, she had graduated in Electronics Engineering from the K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering, University of Mumbai and was working as a software engineer. During her rehabilitation, she was approached by another Indian para-badminton player, Neeraj George who asked her to try out for the Indian para-badminton side. It was only after she played at a tournament in Spain that Manasi Joshi really took to the idea of playing para-badminton professionally. 

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In 2018, Joshi joined forces with the eminent Indian coach Pullela Gopichand - the man behind great Indian badminton players like Saina Nehwal, P. V. Sindhu, Sai Praneeth, Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth. Just one year later, Manasi Joshi won her first women's singles gold medal at the Para-Badminton World Championship in Basel, Switzerland. As of June 2019, Manasi Joshi was the World No. 2 in the SL3 Singles category. Since then, she has received multiple honours, including a Barbie doll made just for her. 

With this honour, Manasi Joshi joins a select group of inspirational women, both Indian and from around the world. Manasi Joshi has often expressed her desire to help other women and para-athletes using the experiences she has had. After receiving her OOAK doll, Manasi Joshi said that she hoped this kind of exposure to disability as a non-impediment to success would have a positive impact on children. She is only the second Indian woman after Dipa Karmakar to be included in Barbie's Sheroes series of dolls.

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Other women with one-of-a-kind Barbie dolls

According to Barbie's website, the reason behind launching the 'Dream Gap Project' is to give young girls 'More Role Models' to choose from. A diverse range of women from all fields, countries, and colours have been chosen for this honour, including Indian Gymnast Dipa Karmakar, American Olympic Champion Aly Raisman, three-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, artist Frida Khalo, American Women's soccer player Alex Morgan, Shotputter Dame Valerie Adams, para-athlete Madison de Rozario, Sabre Fencer Olga Kharlan, Turkish Swimmer Sümeyye Boyacı, aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, conservationist Bindi Irwin and many others. 

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Image Credits: Manasi Joshi Twitter