Roshibina, who almost didn’t make it, eyes India’s first wushu gold

New Delhi: Until the last minute Roshibina Devi Naorem’s participation at the Asian Games was clouded in controversy. A two-time medallist at the Games, Roshibina had narrowly lost the selection trials to young talent Divyanshi Choudhary, who was originally picked for the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

Manipur’s Roshibina had her eyes set on becoming the first wushu player from India to win a hat-trick of medals at the Asian Games. But a year ago she injured her knee, which sidelined for months. Losing the trials to Divyanshi seemed to have dashed her dream. However, Divyanshi was diagnosed with an ACL injury and that saw Wushu Association of India (WUI) fall back on its experienced player. Divyanshi was replaced with Roshibina, but controversy erupted when the youngster in a highly-charged emotional video alleged that she was unfairly removed from the team, even blaming Roshibina. WAI coaches and officials then had a chat with Divyanshi and made her understand the gravity of the situation and she realised her mistake.

“She was coming back from an injury during the trials and it could be the reason for her loss. But we put full faith in Divyanshi. It was only when the latter was injured that Roshibina, who was on standby, was added to the list,” says national coach Kuldeep Handoo.

“Roshibina is an exceptional wushu fighter and has consistently given results for India. She has improved the profile of the sport in the country. The fighter that she is will go all out to win a gold medal for India,” says Handoo.

On Wednesday, Roshibina, 25, defeated Indonesia’s Thania Kusumaningtyas in the semifinals of the women’s 60kg Sanda, winning the contest 2-0. She beat Man sin chu of Macau in the quarters. Having confirmed her third medal, she will fight against China’s Zhang Xiaoyu in the gold medal match. At the 2018 Asian Games she won bronze and improved that to silver in 2023 Hangzhou.

In a sport that is dominated by China, Iran, Macau and South Korea, Roshibina has carved a place for herself and India. Sanda is a combat sport that developed from traditional Wushu techniques like punches, kicks, throws, takedowns and sweeps. Unlike the more familiar taolu, which consists of choreographed forms, Sanda is a full-contact fighting format.

Wushu was introduced in the Beijing Asian Games in 1990. India had won 10 medals at the Games before this edition. N Bimoljeet Singh and Narender Grewal have won two medals each, and Roshibina now has three.

“It is a huge achievement because it has taken us a long time to win medals. The first medal came in 2006 and since then we have been consistently winning at the Asian Games,” says Handoo.

Roshibina spends most of her time at the national camp in Jammu, away from her family in Manipur. Coming from a farmer’s family, she learnt the sport at the SAI centre in Imphal. A job with the Manipur Police has helped the family with the finances.

Her early promise showed when she won a medal at the Jr Wushu World Championships in 2016. “In her first Asian Games she was just 17 but displayed such confidence in her fights and won a medal. She is very disciplined and in the last one year she was very focused on her rehab to be ready for the Games,” says Handoo.

“To not compete much in the last one year and make a comeback at the Asian Games with her third medal is a big moment for her,” he said.

“Winning a medal for the country is always a proud moment. This time I want to return with a gold,” Roshibina had said before going for Aichi-Nagoya.