Manasi Joshi has won 10 gold, 9 silver and 15 bronze medals at level 1 international tournaments. She's a former World Champion (SL3), an engineer, an Arjuna award winner, Aspen Fellow, and has spoken at Harvard.

As Manasi approaches the Paris Paralympics, she's feeling "stronger than ever." That said, she's pauses to flag HOW she hopes journalists and the media should talk about her, or rather how they shouldn't. She shares, "I don't want to be called inspirational because I happen to play the sport with a disability. I want to be called inspirational because I put in the same amount of time and effort and show up every day." Manasi shares that she'd rather have a short column than pages in a magazine focusing on how she's an inspiration because of her disability. She's more than a headline that pulls at people's heartstrings: she's an elite athlete who dominates international tournaments and puts in the blood, sweat and tears to make it to the top.

In today's conversation we discuss Manasi's hopes for Paris, how the media can improve its portrayal of para athletes, and how each and every person can be a better ally to the Paralympic movement.

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