Three Asian Games medals across three editions. That’s a feat not many Indian athletes can boast of, unless you’re Roshibina Devi. The 25-year-old Wushu player from Manipur made her Asian Games debut at the age of 17 in Jakarta-Palembang, winning a bronze medal in the women’s sanda 60kg event. Five years later, she went one step further, clinching silver in the same category in Hangzhou. At Aichi-Nagoya last week, she secured her second consecutive Asian Games silver medal, finishing runner-up to China’s Zhang Xiaoyu.
Speaking at NDTV YUVA 2026, Roshibina revealed that she grew up watching Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies, which inspired her love for combat sports. She recalled how her father spotted her sparring with her brothers using makeshift wushu gloves made from a lungi and encouraged her to pursue the sport.
“I have loved sports since the beginning. I used to watch a lot of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies. At home, I would make boxing gloves out of lungis and spar with my brothers. During that time, my father noticed me and started looking for a way to get me into sports,” Roshibina told NDTV’s Executive Editor (Sports), Gaurav Gala.
Roshibina also credited her coach for giving her the confidence to compete against athletes older and more experienced than her, which eventually led to her winning her first Asian Games medal at the age of 17.
“My only goal from the start until now has been to keep playing. But my coach is the one who taught me how far I could go and what I could achieve. When I was young, all I wanted was to compete with the seniors. My coach made me believe that I could do it. I trust my coach (Ojha), and listening to him gave me confidence,” she added.
“When I won a medal at the age of 17, my coach’s belief in me grew even stronger. He told me that I could become the first Indian Wushu athlete to win a gold medal for the country. That is what I have been striving for ever since, but I fell just short of achieving it,” Roshibina recalled.
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Asian Games 2026
