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          Asian Games: After personal setbacks, Manipuri wushu medallist Roshibina's cloud finally has a silver lining

          Silver medalist India's Roshibina Devi Naorem poses on the podium during the awards ceremony of the Wushu women's 60kg at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi
          • Sunaadh Sagar
          Sep 28, 2023, 05:31 AM

          After the 2018 Asian Games, Roshibina Devi Naorem was welcomed back to her hometown in Bishnupur district of Manipur with plenty of pomp for winning a bronze medal. This time she returns from Hangzhou with a silver - India's second-ever wushu silver - but the five-month-long violence in Manipur will ensure any celebrations will be muted, at best.

          After winning her medal, Roshibina (22) spoke emotionally about the situation. "Manipur is burning. Fighting is going on in Manipur. I can't go to my village. I want to dedicate this medal to those who are protecting us and suffering there," said Roshibina after clinching the silver.

          "I don't know what will happen, the fighting has been continuing," Roshibina, in tears, added. "When will it stop and return to normal life of earlier times?"

          She said she spoke to her parents on Wednesday and they asked her to focus on the final without getting distracted by the Manipuri violence. "They told me to focus on the match and not on other things. My family is fine. I don't speak to them regularly as my coaches say the violence at home will distract me."

          In fact, her preparations for the Asian Games, and even her time at Hangzhou, have been severely disrupted by extraordinary developments. Her sparring partner and friend, Onilu Tega, was one of the three wushu athletes from Arunachal Pradesh who did not travel to China due to visa complications.

          The wushu contingent describe themselves as a family; the athletes' pool is small, given how niche the sport is, and they spend plenty of time together. To not have their adopted sporting family, as well as her real family, around would take a toll on any athlete, let alone one in a major overseas competition.

          And ahead of her final, Roshibina was clear who this medal was for: "I want to win (the gold) for my three friends who could not make it here. I am used to having Onilu Tega around. We often train together and are good friends. In big events like these, it is important to have someone you are comfortable with," she told PTI.

          The Arunachal Pradesh complications also denied Roshibina earlier this year, with the entire wushu squad being pulled out of the World University Games in China after three players - Tega, Nyeman Wangsu and Mepung Lamgu - were issued stapled visas. A medal was a real possibility, and the tournament also served as vital preparation ahead of the Asian Games.

          On the wushu mat, though, Roshibina didn't show any signs of the mental strain she was under. Her display through her campaign in the women's sanda 60kg category was stellar - at 5'4'' tall, a pocket dynamo of aggression and swagger.

          She treated her quarterfinal opponent, Aiman Karshyga of Kazakhstan, like a ragdoll, picking her up with ease and throwing her down multiple times, racing to 12 points and winning the bout in a comprehensive manner. Her two-inch height disadvantage didn't matter.

          Her semifinal performance against Vietnam's Thi Thu Thuy Nguyen, also a taller opponent, wasn't as dominant, but Roshibina was full of aggression - the bout ending with the Indian bulldozing her opponent off the mat in the final seconds. An immediate fist pump of joy, a Cristiano Ronaldo-esque pose of pure swagger and a happy skip off the mat - Roshibina knew she had a shot at gold. In her way stood Xiaowei Wu of China. And China's history of wushu.

          India have never won a Wushu gold at the Asian Games. China have won 63.

          Women's sanda wasn't even a Worlds category when Roshibina was born, with India's history in the sport beginning only in 1989. A thousand-year-old sport in China, the pool of Chinese wushu athletes is so large that they rarely have repeat winners - so though Roshibina's final opponent, Xiaowei, was in her first major international final, she had the backing of the entire Chinese wushu system, and home court advantage behind her.

          Roshibina's bulldozing aggression did not work anymore, as 5'7'' tall Xiaowei stood relatively unmoved. An early takedown put Roshibina on the backfoot, and it was clear the first round belonged to her opponent.

          Roshibina responded with an early throw-down of her own in the second round to raise hopes of a decider, but Xiaowei's kickboxing prowess was too good and caught Roshibina square on her jaw. The bout was done, and as the blue board went up for the second time, Roshibina knew her shot at a much-wanted gold had gone.

          China had denied Roshibina her sparring partner and friend, denied her a final appearance in 2018, and now denied her a historic gold. Yet, being the spiritual home of the sport, it had also given Roshibina everything - perhaps explaining the slightly pained smile on the podium as she received her silver medal.

          She now has an eye on the forthcoming Worlds in USA during November as well as the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan (Wushu is not an Olympic Sport yet). "I'm happy but it did not happen [the gold]... but one day I will definitely become the champion. For that I will work very hard, with all of my being," said Roshibina after her final.

          'All of her being' is pretty much a guarantee, but one hopes that the next time the two-time Asian Games medallist steps on to the mat, there will be friends and family in the stands and peace in her hometown.