Named to the team only on September 10 after original choice Divyanshi suffered an ACL injury, Naorem Roshibina Devi had little time to prepare but still won her third consecutive Asian Games medal, taking silver after losing to Zhang Xiaoyu in the women's 60kg wushu final here on Thursday.
The 25-year-old Roshibina lost 0-2 in the final bout with all the five judges giving unanimous 5-0 decisions in favour of the Chinese player in both the rounds of two minute each at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall.
Xiaoyu dominated the first round with the scores of five judges reading 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, 8-2 in her favour.
The relentless Chinese player was even better in the second and final round with 10-2, 8-3, 7-3, 7-3, 6-1 scores in her favour from the five judges.
Roshibina, who had won a silver in the last edition and a bronze in the 2018 Asian Games, could not counter here opponent's aggression and technical superiority, especially the side-kicks from the Chinese player.
The Indian remained subdued for most part of the bout.
"I have won silver earlier and this time also, I could win only silver. I could not give the gold medal to the Indian people. I could not give what everyone wanted," Roshibina said after the bout.
"There was a lot of disturbance when I came here for the Asian Games. I did not get much time to prepare. But, my coach (Amit Pal) supported me a lot to reach here. I will try my best in the upcoming Games, learn from my mistakes and come back," said the Manipuri.
"I came to know of my inclusion in the team around September 10 and straightway came here from home (from Manipur) without training much," she said.
Hailing from Kwasiphai Mayai Leikai in Manipur's Bishnupur district, Roshibina's farmer father -- Naorem Damu Singh -- was initially not inclined to allow her take up wushu but later relented after seeing his daughter's passion for the sport.
Roshibina's father of humble means had to sell piece of land to fund her training and travel in the initial years of her career.
Talking about her opponent, she said, "She (Chinese player) is a new player, I have not fought against her. She was good in her side kicks. I also tried to defend. I tried to throw her, but she did better. I will do my best for India in the upcoming Games."
Wushu is a combat sport originated from traditional Chinese martial arts.
Roshibina's coach Amit Pal also talked about her lack of preparation ahead of the Games.
"The Chinese fighter was very good, something lacking (in Roshibina). But also, Roshibina did not get much time to prepare. She was out of the national camp for one and half months.
"After trials in June in Srinagar, she left for her home since she lost. After Divyanshi's ACL injury, Roshibina was named in the team on September 10. She had little training (in between) and straightaway came here," he said.
Roshibina ensured that the Indian wush camp had something to cheer following medal-less show from other contenders.
Among the other Sanda athletes, Aryan (Men's 56kg) had lost the quarterfinals, while Aparna (Women's 52kg) was eliminated in the round of 16. Vikrant Baliyan (Men's 75kg) lost his opening round. India's Taolu contingent could not reach any podium round.
Langlentombi Devi Hanjabam put up a combined score of 18.839 across the women's Nanquan and Nandao events, finishing in 9th place overall.
Nyeman Wangsu concluded her run in the women's Changquan event with a final score of 9. 573, and was placed 15th.
Suraj Singh Mayanglambam competed heavily in a stacked men's Changquan final field but ultimately finished 11th.
(With inputs from PTI)