Aichi : Veteran wushu player Roshibina Devi on Thursday said she would ignore the accusations of mental harassment made against her by fellow player Divyanshi Choudhary in the selection controversy just ahead of the Asian Games and that the national federation’s decision to pick her was a “good one”.
The 25-year-old Roshibina scored a hat-rick of medals at the Continental showpiece after settling for a silver, following a 0-2 defeat against Zhang Xiaoyu of China in the women’s 60kg final. She had also won a silver in the last edition after clinching a bronze in 2018 Asian Games.
“What happened was not because of me. It was federation’s decision (to pick her for Asian Games). Whatever decision the federation (Wushu Association of India) took, it think it was a good decision,” Roshibina said after the final bout.
“I will ignore it (the accusation). I just want to focus on my goal,” said the player from Manipur when asked about her reaction on the accusations made against her.
Divyanshi, who had beaten Roshibina in the Asian Games trials in Srinagar in June but was later dropped from the squad after an ACL injury, had accused the Manipuri player of working against her to get into the Asian Games team.
“I am really fed up. I have been harassed so much mentally from June, July to now, it’s September, I am being harassed, because she (Roshibina) wanted to go (to the Asian Games),” Divyanshi had said in a video on social media.
“Why is she not letting anyone else go? I have defeated her (in the selection trial). I have the right to go to Asian Games,” Divyanshi had said.
The Wushu Association of India (WAI) had said that an MRI done on Divyanshi in the last week of August had revealed a partial high-grade ACL tear with large effusion and that’s why she was replaced.
Divyanshi later dialled down her anger after being dropped and said she has full support of the WAI to make a stronger comeback. She, however, maintained that Roshibina had harassed her and her family.
Roshibina said she got to know about her inclusion in the Asian Games team only a few days before the team departure.
“There was a lot of disturbance when I came here for the Asian Games. I did not get much time to prepare. If I had more time, I would have done better,” she said.
Asked what was the disturbance, she said, “I was not in the team initially (after losing in the trial). That was it.”
She said the Indian wushu players will need to work on their mental aspect to be able to beat the Chinese player who has been dominating the sport.
“We have to improve our mentality. We have a two-time world (junior) champion Aryan. He has already defeated the Chinese. The juniors think that there is pressure. We (seniors) will show them that we can beat the Chinese.lha
“The juniors will feel that we can do it. There are a lot of good players in wushu. I am sure that they will do better.”
Roshibina’s right knee area was tapped during the fight and there was a little bit of hit on her nose.
“It is a minor thing (tapped) from the semifinal bout. And, I don’t not know when it was hit. I do not know what pain is. I forget all the pain during fights.”
Asked how important the silver medal is for her, Roshibina said, “This is my third Asian Games medal. All wushu players hope that they will also get a medal. They want to win a medal like me.
“I want to inspire all the players. I want to be like them. I will do my best in the upcoming Games.”
Roshibina, who hails from a farming family in Kwasiphai, Bishnupur district, Manipur, secured silver in the Women’s 60kg category after losing 0-2 to China’s Zhang Xiaoyu in the final. She had also won silver at the previous Asiad, losing to China’s Wu Xiaowei at the Hangzhou 2023 Games.
Speaking after her 2026 silver, Roshibina put her focus on improving her performance in the future. “I am very happy to win the Wushu medal for the third time for India. I will prepare for more games in the future and look to change the colour of the medal,” she said, after her silver medal win.
Roshibina initially missed out on a place in the Indian squad after losing the selection trial to Divyanshi Choudhary. She was later called at the 11th hour as a replacement after Divyanshi pulled out following her medical examinations.
She admitted that she had less time to prepare for the Games and reflected on the final match against the Chinese. “I had a short preparation time, and Zhang’s range is also a little longer than mine. So, she took advantage of that. I am preparing to improve and do better than before,” she said.
Roshibina admitted that it was not easy to win a medal back-to-back. “It is not easy to recover from injuries and compete with the youth. It is not easy to compete with them. But I will do better in the future. I want to be ready to compete with them,” she said. further.
During her progression to the final, Roshibina had defeated Macao’s Chu Man Sin 5-0 in the quarterfinals to assure herself of a medal.
She then prevailed 2-0 against Indonesia’s Thania Kusumaningtyas to progress to the final, but eventually succumbed 0-2 to China’s Zhang in the gold-medal bout.
Roshibina trains in the Women’s Sanda 60kg category at SAI NCOE Imphal under coach Maibam Premkumar Singh and is one of India’s most decorated wushu athletes.
She won bronze at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and upgraded it to silver at the 2023 (19th) Asian Games in Hangzhou, becoming only the second Indian to win a Wushu silver medal at the Asian Games.
Her achievements have been recognised with the Arjuna Award, India’s second-highest sporting honour, and the International Wushu Federation’s Female Wushu Athlete of the Year (Sanda) title.
