“I was mischievous during my childhood. I used to beat up boys if they ragged my sisters,” she recalls, bursting into laughter. [break]
It was 10 years ago during a dance program organized by a children´s group that Manita expressed her desire to learn martial arts. At that time, she had no idea about taekwondo -- the game that would fetch her gold medal in the 10th South Asian Games (SAG).
All she knew then was dancing which she was pretty good at. Her relative Hasta Man Dangol, a former taekwondo player, introduced her to the sports when she was 18 years old.
“Maybe I would have been pursuing my studies had I not joined taekwondo,” she says.
The price she paid for learning taekwondo was her hair. When asked about her boys-cut hair, she laughs and says she has to maintain short hair so that it does not hamper her training. “I wish I could keep long hair,” she adds.
She is usually seen around wearing track-suits but she prefers jeans and saris. Her favorite food is ´Newari´.
She enjoys Friday not because it´s a party day but because the players get a break to play football. “Pain in our limping legs disappears when we get to play football on Fridays,” she says.
Taekwondo has become a part of her life. It has given her respect and dignity and also a job at Nepal Police Club. She has participated in various international tournaments which have enriched her experience while she has never settled for less than gold in national tournaments.
She is a bit disappointed for winning silver in the recently concluded 11th SAG as she couldn´t defend her title. But she has no time to regret.
Manita is already gearing up for the upcoming Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou, China. She had won bronze in the 15th edition of the Asian Games in Dubai in 2007.
“My aim at present is to at least reach the semifinals of the Asian Games. I also have to win gold in the next SAG,” she said.
Unlike other players who often complain of being neglected, Shahi says she is happy with all that she has got from the sports. “I would like to urge others to join sports as it keeps us physically fit and boosts our confidence,” she says.
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