What happened was not because of me: Roshibina on selection controversy before Asiad

Indian wushu player Roshibina Devi won her second successive Asian Games silver in the women’s 60kg category, overcoming controversy surrounding her selection. She said the federation made the decision and vowed to ignore criticism while focusing on future competitions and inspiring younger players 

Nagoya: Elated that she could justify her controversy-mired inclusion with a second successive Asian Games silver, Indian wushu player Roshibina Devi refused to dwell on the accusations of unfair selection levelled by injured omitted player Divyanshi Choudhary, asserting that “what happened was not because of me”.

The 25-year-old Roshibina scored a hat-rick of medals at the continental showpiece as she had won a bronze in the 2018 edition. This time, her silver came following a 0-2 defeat to Zhang Xiaoyu of China in the women’s 60kg final here on Thursday.

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“What happened was not because of me. It was the federation’s decision. Whatever decision the federation (Wushu Association of India) took, I 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.

“It’s all right if somebody wants to be negative to me. In every situation you have to be strong and ignore the negative environment and just trust yourself and believe in yourself and bring your best energy.”

Divyanshi, who had beaten Roshibina in the Asian Games trials in Srinagar in June, was dropped from the squad after an ACL injury. She accused the federation of playing favourites and alleged that Roshibina had been working against her to get into the Asian Games team.

Divyanshi had also alleged that she was being harassed “because Roshibina wanted to go”.

Responding to the charge, the Wushu Association of India (WAI) produced her MRI report that revealed a partial high-grade ACL tear and justified replacing Divyanshi with Roshibina.

Roshibina said she got to know about her inclusion in the Asian Games team only a few days before the squad’s departure and she could have done better if there was more time in hand to prepare.

“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.

“But I’m very happy with the silver, even though I did not get what I really wanted (gold). I’m happier for this silver than I was after Hangzhou (Asian Games) in 2023. That was a difficult time for me (as ethnic violence was happening at that time). Now I am stronger.”

Asked to elaborate on what was disturbing her, she said, “I was not in the team initially (after losing in the trial). That was it.”

She said Indian wushu players will need to work on their mental fortitude to be able to beat the Chinese players who have 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.

“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 was taped during the fight and she also took a hit on her nose.

“It is a minor thing (taped) from the semifinal bout. And, I don’t know when it was hit. I do not know what pain is. I forget all the pain during fights,” she said.

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.”