Naorem Roshibina Devi wins Silver in Wushu : Meitei girl does India proud
Source: The Sangai Express / DIPR

Imphal, September 28 2023: Fifteen years ago, at Kwakshiphai, a nondescript village in Manipur's Bishnupur district, a little girl spent her free time punching and kicking at an improvised punching bag she made at her residence, paving her way to learn Wushu at Sports Authority of India (SAI) training centre in Imphal.

On Thursday, the 22-year-old girl-Naorem Roshibina Devi clinched a silver medal in the women's 60-Kg Sanda final at the ongoing 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

In the match, she lost 2-0 to home favourite Xiaowi Wu.

Naorem Roshibina Devi wins Silver in Wushu : Meitei girl does India proud

Roshibina had hoped to script history by clinching India's first gold in Wushu at the Asian Games after her terrific performance at the semi finals defeated Vietnam's Thi Thu Thuy Ngyugen 2-0, needing only 2 rounds of 2 minutes each.

"I'm happy about my performance but I could have been happier if I had won the championship and also if the situation in my home State had resolved," said the talented and aggressive Sanda fighter while reacting to the media after the final bout.

Roshibina said she will aim for gold next.

Nevertheless, by winning the silver medal this time, Roshibina managed to change the color of the medal she won at Jakarta Asiad in 2018 .

"For all of us in our small family and village, we are all happy as my daughter has bagged a silver medal today.

But her (Roshibina) elation didn't go to the peak as she was expecting a gold in the final match," Roshibina's father Naorem Damu Singh said.

Soon after he heard the great news about his daughter, he called her on WhatsApp from a house where internet was accessible.

Damu is an ordinary cultivator.

"During our short conversation, my daughter was not in her highest happiness mood as she said she was expecting a gold medal in the final match.

I, however, asked her not to lose heart, and encouraged her to grab first position in the upcoming international competitions," Damu said.

The elated father said Roshibina has already been selected to vie for an international Wushu championship to be held in the USA in November this year.

Apart from the Asiad medal she has won, Roshibina has won hordes of laurels, including a gold medal in Junior Wushu World Championship held in Bulgaria in 2026, another gold in South Asian Games (Kathmandu) in 2019 and two medals in 'Moscow Wushu Stars" .

Recapitulating Roshibina's deep passion for Wushu, Damu said when she was just 7/8 years old, she collected tattered clothes and made a punch back which she punched and kicked frantically all the time.

"Noticing her zeal, a Wushu champion Malemnganbi Devi from our locality began teaching the game to her.

Another Wushu coach, M Ronel Singh from Nachou, our neighbouring village, also taught her the art of the game for a short period of time," Damu said.

Later, she was sent to SAI training centre in Imphal.