NEW DELHI: Naorem Roshibina Devi is one victory away from rewriting Indian wushu history. Already the country’s most successful wushu athlete at the Asian Games — the Manipuri has gone from bronze at Jakarta 2018 to silver at Hangzhou 2023. Now, with another silver medal assured in Aichi-Nagoya, she has the chance to change its colour and become the country’s first Asian Games wushu gold medallist.The 25-year-old stormed into the women’s 60kg sanda final on Wednesday, defeating Indonesia’s Thania Kusumaningtyas 2-0 at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall. Roshibina will face China’s Zhang Xiaoyu in the final on Thursday, with history within touching distance.Her route to the final has been emphatic. She opened her campaign by beating Bangladesh’s Shika Khatun in the pre-quarterfinals before producing a 5-0 victory over Macau’s Chu Man Sin in the quarterfinals. The semifinal against Thania brought another controlled performance, taking Roshibina through to her third Games medal.What makes the run more remarkable is that Roshibina was not even the original choice for the continental event. She lost to teammate Divyanshi Choudhary in the selection trials in Srinagar in June. Divyanshi was initially picked but was later ruled out after an MRI revealed a high-grade ACL tear. The Wushu Association of India (WAI) then brought Roshibina back into the squad.Divyanshi alleged mental harassment and preferential treatment by the federation to draft in Roshibina. Amid the raging issue, Divyanshi threatened suicide before retracting. The WAI, however, rejected the allegations and maintained that the replacement was based on medical grounds.In Aichi-Nagoya, Roshibina has let her performances do the talking. From a return to the squad, she has marched into the final with composure and purpose. She now has the chance to take a historic leap by climbing the top podium.
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