'You will see a new Indian Tigress': Ritu Phogat eyes winning start to season with changes to fighting style

Born in the famous Phogat family, wrestling was an easy choice for Ritu . Following the footsteps of her trailblazing sisters, Geeta and Babita, Ritu won the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in 2016 and clinched bronze at Asian Championships in 2017. But there was something amiss. Ritu wanted to be a pathbreaker in her own right and that fire in the belly took her to mixed martial arts (MMA). Ever since becoming a professional MMA athlete, the 28-year-old athlete has declared boldly, and multiple times, that the world title is her sole aim. Late last year, her dream suffered a crushing blow as she lost by submission to Thailand’s Stamp Fairtex in a bout that was to decide the title contender. But then again, the journey to becoming the first Indian MMA world champion was never going to be easy. And Ritu knows it better than anyone. More importantly, she knows that instead of thinking about the past, it’s important to focus on her goal and the future. After a nine-month hiatus, the Indian athlete, who is also known as the ‘Indian Tigress’, is set to return to the ring on 29 September against Singapore’s Tiffany Teo in the One 161. The break has allowed the former wrestler to recover from her long-term shoulder injury and Ritu, who holds a 7-2 record after her first full MMA season, says she has also used the time away from the ring to revamp her fighting style that would soon be on display. “I, unfortunately, could not win my last bout but it was an incredible journey. I have learnt a lot from that bout. Winning and losing is a part and parcel of the sport but a true fighter can never be defeated,” Ritu says. “During the break, my focus was on my recovery from the shoulder injury and I feel fully fit now. I am improving every day, training is going well and I am ready for the comeback. You guys will see a new Indian Tigress this season.”

While she refused to divulge what has changed in her fighting style, Ritu Phogat 2.0 will be put to a strong test against 32-year-old Teo. The Singaporean boasts a 10-2 record and generally fights in the heavier strawweight division. Teo is also trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and wrestling and hence should be a good match for Ritu’s proven grappling skills. And this is where the Indian will need to show more variety and flexibility. Using her grappling strength, Ritu executed numerous takedowns in her past bouts, which gave her an advantage over her opponents. But her poor striking skills have come in the way of her progression. In her last bout, Stamp made excellent use of her takedown defence and eventually caught Phogat in an arm bar resulting in a submission from the Balali athlete. “Teo is coming down from strawweight to atomweight division, so she is going to be strong. She is a very good fighter and an experienced campaigner. We have strategies in place to tackle her game. It’s a fight between two grapplers so for sure it will be a great match. I have worked very hard for this fight,” adds Ritu. Reflecting on her last season in MMA and the defeat to Stamp, Ritu said her experiences have only made her a better fighter. The defeat (against Stamp) didn’t impact me mentally much. I have competed at many big events even as a wrestler. It wasn’t very difficult to accept the defeat but yes, the loss has pushed me to work even harder; to analyse what went wrong and what can be improved. So I am positive and the focus is on improving my skills," she says. “My goal remains the same. It’s a path that I have chosen and I am working hard to get to my goal. Soon, I will win the world championship belt for India.”

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Apart from changing her fighting style, there’s also been a change of coach for Ritu. Afghanistan’s Siyar Bahadurzada has been replaced by Malaysia’s Adam Shahir Kayoom. Adam is a two-time World Muay Thai World Champion and also has three black belts to his name: Taekwondo, shorinji ryu, karate-do, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. “Adam Sahir joined us as a coach last month only. We have got an understanding in place and that’s the good thing… we are working on how I can take advantage of my wrestling skills in my MMA bouts and there have been a lot of improvements,” Ritu signs off. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.