After a dominant debut in the world’s largest martial arts organization, Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat promises to put on another exciting show.
This Friday, 28 February, Phogat faces Chinese Taipei mixed martial arts World Champion “Miss Red” Wu Chiao Chen at ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE in her adopted home country of Singapore.
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Phogat, who is a student of famed wrestling coach Mahavir Singh Phogat, is a household name in India.
“The Indian Tigress” is a Commonwealth Wrestling Championships gold medalist, a three-time Indian National Wrestling Champion, an Asian Wrestling Championships bronze medalist, and a Wrestling World Championships fifth-place winner.
Following her decorated wrestling career, expectations were high when she transitioned to mixed martial arts last year.
In her first appearance on the global stage in November, “The Indian Tigress” scored an emphatic TKO finish over “Captain Marvel” Nam Hee Kim in the second round at ONE: AGE OF DRAGONS in Beijing, China.
After exceeding expectations in her debut, Phogat’s confidence has been on cloud nine, and the 25-year-old plans for an encore in “The Lion City” this Friday.
“It has been great so far. I thoroughly enjoy this new sport and I am very glad I made the transition,” she said.
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“Once you enjoy what you do, you will always push yourself to improve and become the best, and that’s exactly where I’m at now.”
While Phogat has managed to translate her supreme physical abilities from wrestling into mixed martial arts, the Singapore-based Indian believes the key to her success comes from the years of hard work and training in her natural sport.
“Proper training, instilling self-discipline, and adopting a positive attitude are the three factors that I believe you need to have to improve as an athlete,” she said.
“If you lack in any one of them, it will show on the mat, cage, or ring. I have been following this mantra since my wrestling days and I have to apply it in mixed martial arts as well if I want to succeed.”
Phogat is ready to pounce in “The Lion City,” and she aims to put on a show for all the fans watching across the world.
“I have been training hard every day to deliver peak performance and I feel great about this upcoming bout against Wu,” she said.
Will “The Indian Tigress” start a winning streak by defeating “Miss Red” on 28 February at ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE in the Singapore Indoor Stadium?
Courtesy- Yahoo News