Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated Naorem Roshibina Devi on winning the Silver Medal in the Women’s Sanda 60kg event.
In a post on X, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said, “Congratulations to Naorem Roshibina Devi on winning the Silver Medal in the Women’s Sanda 60kg event. This is a noteworthy achievement…winning medals in 3 consecutive Asian Games. Her consistency, courage and determination are truly commendable. Best wishes for all future endeavours.”
Naorem Roshibina Devi won her third Asian Games medal on the trot after losing to Zhang Xiaoyu in the women’s 60k wushu final.
The 25-year-old Roshibina lost 0-2 in the final bout with all the five judges giving unanimous 5-0 decisions in favour of the Chinese player in both the rounds of two minute each at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall.
Xiaoyu dominated the first round with the scores of five judges reading 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, 8-2 in her favour. The relentless Chinese player was even better in the second and final round with 10-2, 8-3, 7-3, 7-3, 6-1 scores in her favour from the five judges.
Roshibina, who had won a silver in the last edition and a bronze in the 2018 Asian Games, could not counter here opponent’s aggression and technical superiority, especially the side-kicks from the Chinese player. The Indian remained subdued for most part of the bout.
“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. I could not give what everyone wanted,” Roshibina said after the bout.
“There was a lot of disturbance when I came here for the Asian Games. I did not get much time to prepare. But, my coach (Amit Pal) supported me a lot to reach here. I will try my best in the upcoming Games, learn from my mistakes and come back,” said the Manipuri.
“I came to know of my inclusion in the team around September 10 and straightway came here from home (from Manipur) without training much,” she said.
Talking about her opponent, she said, “She (Chinese player) is a new player, I have not fought against her. She was good in her side kicks. I also tried to defend. I tried to throw her, but she did better. I will do my best for India in the upcoming Games.”
(With PTI inputs)
