Nagoya, Sept 23: Manipur's Naorem Roshibina Devi stormed into the final of the women’s 60kg Wushu Sanda event at the Asian Games on Wednesday, assuring the country of at least a silver medal and securing her third successive continental medal. Roshibina defeated Indonesia’s Kusumaningtyas Thania 2-0 in the semifinal to book her place in the gold-medal bout.

The victory means the 2018 and 2022 Asian Games medallist will add another medal to her collection. She won bronze at the 2018 Jakarta Games and followed it up with a silver in the same 60kg category at the 2023 Asian Games.

Roshibina had earlier produced a dominant performance in the quarterfinals, defeating her opponent 5-0 on points to advance to the last four. She began her campaign on Monday with a win over Bangladesh’s Shika Khatun in the pre-quarterfinals.

The medal is India’s first confirmed Wushu medal at the ongoing Asian Games, with Roshibina now having a chance to upgrade it to gold in the final. Her place in the Indian squad had earlier sparked controversy after the Wushu Federation said Roshibina was included following Divyanshi Chaudhary’s withdrawal due to injury.

Divyanshi disputed the decision, alleging foul play and claiming she was fit to compete. She also accused the federation of favouring Roshibina, who had initially finished fourth in the selection trials and missed the cut.

Divyanshi later accepted the decision and shifted her focus to making a comeback, bringing the controversy to an end. In the men’s 56kg quarterfinal, India’s Aryan was eliminated after losing 1-2 to Uzbekistan’s Saydullo Abdurashitov.

839, while Nyeman Wangsu finished 15th in the women’s Changquan final. Indian wushu athletes have also produced encouraging performances at the Games, with Suraj Singh Mayanglambam narrowly missing out on a podium finish on Sunday.