Born into a family of champions and guided by her father, Mahavir Singh Phogat, Ritu Phogat first made waves by winning India's first silver medal in the 48kg wrestling division in Poland in 2017. However, she recently surprised the sporting world by prioritizing the MMA Championships over the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Ritu Phogat, whose father Mahavir Singh Phogat’s inspired the nation and whose youngest daughter had shown an interest in the mixed martial art field after bagging India’s first silver in Bydgoszcz, Poland for wrestling under 48kg on 2017. Ritu Phogat did turn heads when she announced that her current focus lies on the MMA Championships than the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
One Championship is a global sports organization specializing in mixed martial arts for both male and female athletes. The promotion blends various combat styles—such as Muay Thai, kickboxing, and traditional MMA—and categorizes fighters into specific weight divisions, including lightweight, heavyweight, straw-weight, and atom-weight.
Known as the 'Indian Tigress,' Ritu Phogat has entered the arena of Singapore's One Championship with the goal of winning an MMA title and establishing India as a powerhouse in the sport. Ritu brings a wealth of experience to the cage, having previously won gold at the 2016 Commonwealth Games and bronze at the Asian Championship in New Delhi. She is now gearing up for her February 28, 2020, fight in Singapore. She previously faced South Korea's Nam Hee Kim (Captain Marvel) in November 2019 under the 'Age of Dragons' series; Ritu emerged victorious in that fair fight, marking India's very first win in the MMA circuit.
On February 12, 2020, while in the midst of her training camp, Ritu Phogat returned to New Delhi for a public workout. During the session, she and her coach performed sparring drills to demonstrate MMA techniques to the gathered crowd. Her upcoming challenge in the One Championship series is titled 'King of the Jungle.'
Ritu Phogat is set to face Chiao Chen Wu from Taipei, China. Although her opponent holds a higher ranking in the record books, Ritu noted in an interview that while her previous win in November was a TKO, she intends to give 100% of her effort against the Chinese fighter on February 28th. While expressing her respect for her opponent, the 'Indian Tigress' is training rigorously with the specific goal of ending the match in the first round.