Asian Games: Roshibina Devi Settles For 2nd Consecutive Silver Losing Wushu Final to China’s Zhang Xiaoyu

Nagoya, Sep 24- India's Naorem Roshibina Devi won her third consecutive Asian Games medal after settling for silver in the women's 60kg wushu Sanda final, losing to China's Zhang Xiaoyu at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall on Thursday.

The 25-year-old Indian was beaten 0-2, with all five judges unanimously awarding both rounds to the Chinese fighter. Zhang dominated from the opening exchanges, using her aggressive approach and sharp side-kicks to keep Roshibina on the back foot.

The first round saw Zhang take clear control, with the judges scoring it 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and 8-2 in her favour. The Chinese fighter maintained her superiority in the second round, winning the judges' cards 10-2, 8-3, 7-3, 7-3 and 6-1.

Roshibina struggled to match Zhang's pace and technical precision, spending much of the bout in a defensive position. She attempted to counter with throws but was unable to unsettle her opponent.

"I have won silver earlier and this time also, I could win only silver. I could not give the gold medal to the Indian people," Roshibina said after the bout.

Her journey to the final itself was remarkable. Roshibina was initially left out of India's Asian Games squad after losing the June trials in Srinagar to Divyanshi Choudhary. However, after Divyanshi suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, Roshibina was included in the team on September 10.

She then travelled directly from Manipur with limited preparation. Her coach Amit Pal acknowledged that the lack of training affected her performance.

Despite the defeat, Roshibina extended her Asian Games medal streak, having previously won bronze in 2018 and silver at the previous edition. Her medal also provided India's wushu contingent with its only podium finish at the Games.