Called up in the 11th hour, Roshibina Devi secures third consecutive Asian Games silver in Wushu

Naorem Roshibina Devi’s bid for a historic Asian Games gold ended in disappointment, but the Manipuri star once again showcased her consistency on the biggest stage by securing a third consecutive Asian Games medal.

Fate is a fickle mistress, and that was the case for Naorem Roshibina Devi, who is fresh off securing her third Asian Games medal in a row. The Indian athlete from Manipur assured India of a medal after reaching the women’s 60kg wushu final, where she lost to Zhang Xiaoyu at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall.

Roshibina lost to Xiaoyu 0-2 in the final after all five judges gave a unanimous 5-0 decision in the Chinese athlete’s favour in both rounds.

Roshibina settles for a silver

Xiaoyu produced a commanding display in the first round, leaving Roshibina with little opportunity to mount a challenge. She won the first round, with all five judges giving 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, 8-2 in her favour.

The Chinese athlete continued her aggression and technical superiority in the second and final round after a 10-2, 8-3, 7-3, 7-3, 6-1 scoreline by the judges in her favour.

“I have won silver earlier, and this time also, I could win only silver. I could not give the gold medal to the Indian people. I could not give what everyone wanted,” Roshibina said after the final.

Roshibina’s path to Asiad was controversial

Notably, Roshibina was a late inductee in the squad after the initial preference, Divyanshi Choudhary, withdrew from the Asian Games due to an ACL injury. The Manipuri athlete had lost to Divyanshi in the trials, which took place in June in Srinagar.