Basel: India got a new world champion in Basel even before the entire nation shifts its attention on star shuttler P.V. Sindhu taking on Japanese Nozomi Okhura in the women's singles final on Sunday.
Manasi Joshi secured the gold medal in women's singles SL3 final of the Para World Badminton Championship by defeating world No. 1 and fellow countrywoman Parul Parmar 21-12,21-7 to earn her maiden title in Para World Badminton Championship at the same venue where the big guns like Sindhu, Kento Momota are locking horns.
After winning the gold medal on Sunday she said," It feels great to be called a world champion. Never easy for any athlete and more so for someone like me who has to face adversity on all fronts to script this golden moment in my career."
Manasi, who finally tasted success in her third apperance in the Worlds, further said, “The competition was very tough and this is my first win against Parul having lost recently in the Canadian Open also recently. But, this time, I was well-prepared working on my strokes, fitness and being mentally more tough.”
Earlier, she won a bronze in 2017.
On top of that, Manasi who was on her way to work in Mumbai, met with a terrible road accident which had her left leg crushed and arms broken. However, the tragedy didn't prevent her from choosing badminton to send a message to the world that with these kind of setbacks you can still recah to the top.
She was an another trainee at Gopichand Academy, after winning the final she expressed her gratitude to the former All England Open Badminton Championships.
“I am grateful to Gopi Sir for being there for all the matches in the Worlds except for the final since it was an all-Indian affair," Manasi said.
