Roshibina Devi: The Injury Replacement Who Won India A Silver Medal In Wushu

Roshibina Devi won the silver medal for India at Asian Games© X (formerly Twitter)

Indian wushu star Roshibina Devi clinched her second straight Asian Games silver medal after going down to China's Zhang Xiaoyu in the women's 60kg sanda final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Thursday. A silver medallist at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games as well, Roshibina was outscored 0-5 in both rounds, with Zhang wrapping up the contest in straight rounds. Despite the defeat in the final, Roshibina impressed throughout the tournament, highlighted by a victory over reigning world champion Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy of Vietnam. Her silver medal took India's tally at the ongoing Games to 14, including one gold, six silvers and seven bronze medals.

Earlier on Wednesday, Roshibina defeated Indonesia's Thania Kusumaningtyas 2-0 in the semi-final to secure her place in the title clash.

Who is Roshibina Devi?

Hailing from Kwasiphai Mayai Leikai of Manipur's Bishnupur district, Roshibina was born on December 30, 2000. At a very young age, she has made a name for herself in the Sanda discipline of wushu, a blend striking and grappling.

Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta turned out to be her claim to fame, where she competed in the women's 60kg Sanda event. After defeating Pakistan's Mubashra Akhtar in the quarterfinals to secure a medal, Roshibina's campaign ended in the semifinals with a defeat to China's Cai Yingying.

At the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, she improved on that achievement by reaching the final of the women's 60kg category. Although she fell short against China's Wu Xiaowei in the gold-medal bout, she returned home with a silver medal.

For her consistent performances and back-to-back accolades for the country, Roshibina was presented with prestigious Arjuna Award in 2023.

The contoversial entry

Despite clinching medals in the 2018 and 2023 editions of Asian Games, Roshibina was not a part of India's Wushu squad in the women's 60kg Sanda category as the association gad initally picked Divyanshi Choudhary for the role.

However, Divyanshi picked up an injury and according to the Wushu Assocation of India (WAI), had suffered a partial high-grade ACL tear with large effusion and was replaced by Roshibina in the Asian Games squad.

Later, in a video that went viral on social media, Divyanshi alleged that she had faced both mental and physical harassment. She further claimed that Roshibina had played a role in the alleged harassment of both her and her family.

According to Divyanshi, she had been declared fit to compete despite her injury after receiving clearance from the medical team.

The WAI issued a statement is response to Divyanshi's allegations and stated thet decision was taken purely on the basis on the medial grounds. Later, Divyanshi also changed her stance and stated that she wishes to bounce back in style in the 20230 edition of Asian Games.

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