On the occasion of International Day of Girl Child which was on Sunday, World Para-Badminton Champion Manasi Joshi has been chosen to be featured as a one-of-a-kind (OOAK) Barbie Doll model. With this, Joshi joins the league of Barbie Sheroes – a series of barbies modeled after exceptional women across the world.
Barbie is committed to shining a light on empowering role models in an effort to inspire little girls. As a key part of their global initiative, the Dream Gap Project, they are introducing girls to women’s stories from all walks of life to show them they can be anything.
Manasi becomes the second Indian woman and the first para-athlete to be modeled as a Barbie doll. Prior to Manasi, in 2019 Deepa Karmakar was featured as Barbie.
The para-badminton player has thanked Barbie for the honor over her Facebook handle.
Joshi further emphasized the need for education based on inclusion and diversity.
Thank you @Barbie, it’s incredible to have an OOAK Barbie Doll modelled after me. I am honoured to be in this league of…
Posted by Manasi Joshi on Saturday, October 10, 2020
Manasi was originally a software engineer in Mumbai who included sports in her routine. When she was 22, her motorcycle was hit by a truck on her way to work. With this, her left leg was badly injured, and doctors were forced to amputate it above her knee. Soon after, she learned to walk again using her new prosthetic leg, a process that took four months. To improve her reflex and stay fit, Joshi turned to her favorite childhood sport, badminton.
Also, Read This:
Finding Ability In His Disability, This Paralympic Champion Will Inspire You To Give Your Best
But what started as an amateur sport became her profession. Two years later in 2013, a friend pushed her to try out for the national para-badminton team and the rest is history. In August 2019, she bagged a gold medal at the BWF Para-Badminton World Championship in Switzerland, becoming the world champion. To her dismay, her achievement was initially overlooked but she was a hit in the social media that heaped praise on her.
For her achievement, Manasi recently featured in the world-reputed Time magazine’s list of Next Generation Leaders 2020. As quoted by the magazine, the list included only 10 people – “trailblazers who are forging new paths, crossing boundaries and creating change”.
The player is now working to qualify to represent India at badminton in next summer’s Tokyo Paralympic Games. She is also a prominent campaigner for the tens of millions of people with disabilities in India.