14 Women Among 70 Indians Competing at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026

Fourteen young women are representing India at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026, forming part of the country's 70-member contingent at the 48th edition of the competition, being held in the Chinese city from 22 to 27 September 2026. The Indian team is competing across 63 skills.

The women's events span a broad range of categories. They include Chemical Laboratory Technology, Logistics and Freight Forwarding, Visual Merchandising, Fashion Technology, Retail Sales and Health and Social Care, as well as Hotel Reception, Restaurant Service, Cooking, Painting and Decorating, Hairdressing, Beauty Therapy, Bakery, and Patisserie and Confectionery.

The spread of disciplines covers technical, specialised, creative and service-oriented fields, indicating the range of vocational pathways being pursued by young Indian women.

Manisha Sensarma, Official Delegate for WorldSkills India and Senior Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, described the participation as an encouraging shift in the country's skilling landscape. She said the diversity of skills on display reinforces the message that skills have no gender, and that efforts are aimed at giving young women the opportunity, training and confidence to choose careers according to their aptitude and aspirations and to compete at global standards.

The Indian competitors are Sampada Desai in Chemical Laboratory Technology; Mehrunissa Begum in Logistics and Freight Forwarding; Anuja Ajay Vare in Visual Merchandising; Vidhi Niravkumar Suthar in Fashion Technology; Saniya Joshi in Retail Sales; Vishnupriya Sunil in Health and Social Care; Rashmeet Kaur Hanspal in Hotel Reception; Jhansirani Rout in Restaurant Service; Thanushree Magesh in Cooking; Muskan in Painting and Decorating; Jui Santosh Sapke in Hairdressing; T. Sabir Sutar in Beauty Therapy; Smriti Nambiar in Bakery; and Krishnanjali Sahoo in Patisserie and Confectionery.

WorldSkills gives participants a platform to measure their abilities against international benchmarks and to learn alongside skilled young professionals from other countries. The women in Team India have undergone intensive preparation ahead of the competition, focused on technical capability and performance under international standards.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has been encouraging greater participation by women in vocational education, apprenticeships and industry-linked training, while supporting wider occupational choices and pathways to sustainable livelihoods.