India's Roshibina Devi Naorem wins Wushu Sanda Athlete of the Year
Jan 23, 2024
New Delhi [India], January 23 : India's wushu athlete Roshibina Devi Naorem clinched the Wushu Sanda Athlete of the Year award for 2023.
International Wushu Federation (IWUF) announced the awards on Tuesday and with 93,545 votes, Roshibina was crowned as the Wushu Sanda Athlete of the Year.
Manipur's Roshibina had a year to remember as she bagged a silver medal for India in the women's 60 Kg Wushu at the Asian Games 2023.
She missed a chance to win gold after losing in the final to her Chinese opponent Xiaowei Wu 2-0. However, Roshibina has upgraded the colour of her medal from bronze, which she won in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
Naorim received a first-round bye in the round of 16, and had her first-round match against Mubashra Akhtar of Pakistan in the quarterfinals. She defeated Mubashra 2-0 to reach the semis and assured herself a medal. In the semifinals, she narrowly missed out by a score of 1-0 to China's Cai Yingying, but it was an amazing game nonetheless.
Iran's Shahrbanoo Mansourian ranked second with 88,170 votes and China's Wu Xiaowei finished third with 46,753 votes.
In other categories, China's Yao Yang won the Wushu Taolu Athlete of the Year with 69,656 votes. Hong Kong's Wing Yung Lee took away the Traditional Wushu Athlete of the Year with 71,679 votes.
Singapore's Zeanne Zhi Ning bagged the Wushu Taolu Rising Star of the Year with 56,405 votes. While France's Flora Point was crowned as the Traditional Wushu Rising Star of the Year with 73,145 points.
Coming to the male category, China's Lu Xiangcheng won the Wushu Taolu Athlete of the Year. France's Yoan Benbedra bagged the Wushu Sanda Athlete of the Year. While Australia's Sherman Mak was crowned as the Traditional Wushu Athlete of the Year.
