When Naorem Roshibina Devi takes the mat against Vietnam’s Thi Thu Thuy Nguyen in the Sanda (combat) 60 kg semi-final on Wednesday, the 23-year-old will not only be fuelled by a sense of impending glory but also by the pain of missing her dear friend and sparring partner Onilu Tega, one of the three athletes from Arunachal Pradesh who were denied visa by Chinese authorities to travel for the Hangzhou Games.
A win will ensure a silver medal for Roshibina besides making her only the second Indian wushu athlete, after Wangkhem Sandhyarani Devi, to reach an Asiad final. Sandhyarani’s effort came in the 2010 Guangzhou Games. India have nine medals in all from wushu in the Asian Games (1 silver, 8 bronze).
“I want to win for my three friends who could not make it here,” Roshibina said, speaking softly but firmly. “I am used to having Onilu around. We often train together and are good friends. In big events like these, it is important to have someone you are comfortable with,” the 2019 South Asian Games champion said.
“Wushu is a small family in India and all of us are quite close. I wish to dedicate my success to my parents and fellow athletes who are not here. I want to win a gold for Onilu, Nyeman Wangsu and Mepung Lamgu. That will be my gift to them,” said Roshibina, who took up wushu in 2012 and was included in the junior national camp in 2016.
While Wangsu was issued regular accreditation, Lamgu and Tega were given e-accreditation which they could not download. Wangsu was turned back from the Delhi airport where she was told that her Games accreditation — it serves as visa — was valid only till Hong Kong. The Chinese offered to issue a stapled visa to the trio, which India refused. The matter snowballed into a political controversy after union sports minister Anurag Thakur called off his scheduled visit to Hangzhou.
Head coach Kuldeep Handoo said: “It would have been great if we had a full-strength team here. The long list had 13 names which was pruned to 11 and ultimately eight athletes could make the trip. All this obviously affects the morale of the team. Having Onilu around would have helped as they train together, but Roshibina is fully focussed on her upcoming bout.”
Although she has never faced Nguyen before, Handoo and assistant coach Rajesh Kumar Tailor say they have analysed the Vietnamese threadbare. “We have enough video analysis to read her game and feel Roshibina’s attacking game puts her in a great position. She is equally good in kicking, throwing and punching, which are the three key elements in this sport.”
‘Palm hold first salute’
Hailing from Manipur’s Kwasiphai Mayai Leikei village in Bishnupur district, which is about an hour’s drive from Imphal, Roshibina grew up on a steady diet of Jackie Chan movies. The ‘palm hold fist salute’ — a traditional greeting in Chinese martial arts — fascinated her the most.
“I found that gesture to be quite cool. It could never be any other sport for me,” she said. Roshibina tuned up for Hangzhou by winning the Moscow Wushu Stars event in Russia in May, her first international tournament since 2019.
While lack of international exposure is an issue, Roshibina has bigger worries. Manipur has been reeling from ethnic violence for over four months now. Roshibina, who belongs to the majority Meiti community, fears for her father Naoren Dhamu, mother Romila Devi, and 16-year-old brother Naorem Prioijit Singh.
“There’s nothing I can do. All I can do is stay away from negativity and pray for them,” she said. Her parents are farmers and also participants in the protest. “My father regularly goes to protest while my mother often keeps an overnight vigil with others to keep our village safe from miscreants. Our house is close to a police station, but I hear even the police are under threat there,” she said.
Since the violence intensified in May, coach Wandoo took away Roshibina’s phone to keep her away from the news. She speaks to her parents on Sundays. Rest of the week, she prays for them.
“If I do well, probably it will bring some relief to my parents and people back home,” she said.
In the spiritual home of wushu, bringing relief to her troubled home and distant friends with her favourite ‘palm hold fist’ salute might just become the most endearing story of this Asian Games.
