Dr. Jitendra Singh hails Roshibina Devi's Asian Games silver
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Three consecutive Asian Games, three medals — Naorem Roshibina Devi has built a record in Indian wushu that few athletes in any discipline can match, and on Thursday, 24 September 2026, Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh stepped forward to mark the moment publicly, congratulating her on winning the silver medal in the Women's Sanda 60kg event.
A hat-trick of medals on the Asian stage
Roshibina's silver adds to a sequence of podium finishes across three successive editions of the Asian Games — a run that places her among India's most durable multi-sport performers. Competing in Sanda, the full-contact striking discipline of wushu, she has returned from each cycle with hardware, a feat that demands not just talent but the physical and mental resilience to peak repeatedly on an international stage.
Dr. Singh's congratulatory post called her consistency, courage, and determination 'truly commendable', noting that three consecutive medals at the Asian Games is a 'remarkable achievement' — a characterisation that, given the competitive nature of the continental field, is hard to dispute.
Wushu's long fight for mainstream recognition in India
Wushu has operated in the margins of India's sporting mainstream for decades, overshadowed by sports with Olympic status. Yet athletes like Roshibina have quietly assembled a record of continental-level success that rivals performers in far better-resourced disciplines. The Sanda 60kg category demands striking, grappling, and ring-craft — a full combat skill set — making sustained excellence across age and competition cycles genuinely difficult.
Official social-media recognition from a Union minister, while a familiar pattern at major Games, carries symbolic weight for a sport still seeking wider institutional support. It signals that Roshibina's achievement has cleared the threshold of national visibility.
What the hat-trick means for her future
The question now is whether this third medal marks a peak or a platform. World Wushu Championships and future Asian Games cycles remain the logical next targets. For Indian wushu as a whole, a three-time Asian Games medallist in an active career is exactly the kind of flag-bearer the sport needs to attract federation attention and grassroots investment.
For Roshibina herself, the silver in 2026 is proof that her arc is still rising — and the best answer to anyone who doubted she could sustain it.