India's Naorem Roshibina Devi Named Female Wushu Athlete Of The Year

India's Noarem Roshibina Devi has been named the Female Wushu Athlete of the Year in the Sanda category by the International Wushu Federation (IWUF). The Manipur-native martial artist had earlier made the nation proud by winning the Arjuna Award this year. After a month-long public voting, Roshibina secured the title with 93,545 votes, beating Iran's Shahrbano Mansouriyan Semiromi (88,179 votes) and China's Wu Xiaowei (46,753 votes). Notably, Xiaowei won the gold medal at the Asian Games last year, while Roshibina clinched the silver. 

According to PTI, 45 candidates from 23 countries and regions entered the public voting in various categories, after the IWUF Athletes Committee’s preliminary evaluation. The results were announced on January 23, and Roshibina not only won the title but also the entire nation's heart.

India's wushu player Roshibina Devi named athlete of year in sanda category by international federation. pic.twitter.com/3dfxU5ql3E

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 23, 2024

Who Is Roshibina Devi?

Naorem Roshibina Devi was born on December 30, 3000 in Kwaksiphai Mayai Leikai, which is in the Bishnpur district of Manipur. The 23-year-old martial artist reportedly belongs to the Meitei community of the Northeast Indian State. She was born into a family of agriculturalists and showed a keen interest in sports early on. 

Speaking to Indian Express in a September 2023 interview, Roshibina said, "There’s a good culture of wushu in Manipur in India. I fell in love with wushu when I saw it for the first time during a district competition. That’s when I wanted to pick it up. I knew boxing and used to try it but I liked wushu more."

Our dedicated and talented Roshibina Devi Naorem has won a Silver Medal in Wushu, Women’s Sanda 60 kg. She has showcased extraordinary talent and relentless pursuit of excellence. Her discipline and determination are also admirable. Congratulations to her. pic.twitter.com/CYiT8Mjyq2

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 28, 2023

Roshibina won the best female Wushu player title this year after showing a consistent winning streak in the last few international games. Apart from last year's Hangzhou Asian Games victory, she won the bronze medal in the 60kg Women's Sanda category in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games. In the year 2017, Roshibina won the gold medal in the 9th Asian Junior Wushu Championships in Gumi, South Korea.