India's Roshibina Devi Naorem bagged a silver medal at the 60 kg Wushu tournament at the Asian Games 2023 held in Hangzhou, China. The player proudly dedicated her medal to Manipur and promised to work harder for the 2023 World Wushu Championships.
The athlete from Manipur also dedicated her medal to her friends from Arunachal Pradesh who were denied visas by the Chinese authorities. Post the ceremony, Devi also expressed her concerns for her parents' well-being amidst the ongoing in Manipur.
Roshibina Devi Wins Silver For India
On September 28, young wushu athlete Roshibina Devi Naorem secured the second position in the finals of the wushu sanda tournament at the Asian Games 2023. The wushu player was defeated by China's reigning champion Wu Xiaowei by 0-2.
The highly-anticipated finals unfolded to be a formidable challenge for Devi as the Chinese opponent was quick to asses Devi's defending approach in the game. In the opening round, Wu Xiaowei exhibited a spectacular aggressive takedown of Devi comfortably clinching the first round by scoring a 1-0.
Undeterred by the setback from the first round, Devi made valiant efforts to turn the tables to her side with an offensive approach. However, as Devi managed to grab Wu's leg in an attempt to push her to the edge of the mat, her efforts went in vain as she was defeated in both rounds by the identical margin of 1-0.
Despite the defeat, Devi received accolades for her game as she was the second Indian to grab a silver for the country in the sport after Wangkhem Sandhyarani in the similar weight category.
Who Is Roshibina Devi?
The 22-year-old Indian wushu player who competes in the sanda division hails from the Bishnupur district of Manipur and is the daughter of a farmer. Devi says she fell in love with the sport at an early age and quickly rose through the ranks.
Devi won her first international medal at the 2016 World Junior Wushu Championships, where she took home a bronze medal in the women's 60kg Sanda event. In 2018, Devi made her Asian Games debut at the Jakarta-Palembang Games.
She won a bronze medal in the women's 60kg Sanda event, defeating Mubashra Akhtar of Pakistan in the quarter-finals and losing to Cai Yingying of China in the semi-finals. In 2019, Devi continued her success winning a gold medal in the women's 60kg Sanda event at the South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Nepal.
At the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Devi won a silver medal in the women's 60kg Sanda event. She defeated Aiman Karshyga of Kazakhstan in the quarter-finals, and Nguyen T of Vietnam in the semi-finals, but lost to Wu Xiaowei of China in the final.
"I want to win for my three friends who could not make it here"
The wushu player before the finals said to the HT that she wanted to win for her three friends hailing from Arunachal Pradesh who could not make it to the event in China as they were denied visas. The Wushu athlete said, "This will be my gift to them."
Prayers For Parents
The athlete hailing from Manipur's Kwasiphai Mayai Leikei village which is an hour's drive from Imphal was also dealing with the stress of the wellbeing of her parents in the ongoing ethnic riots.
Devi has been in constant touch with her parents as she shared that her father has also participated in the protest while her mother keeps an overnight vigil for the wellbeing of their village. Devi expressed how she can do nothing from a distance and has to keep herself away from the negativity and pray for her parents who are stuck in the four-month-long Manipur violence.
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