When Indian star Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat makes her long-awaited return to the Circle at ONE 171: Qatargvg777, she’ll be competing for the first time as a mother.
On Thursday, February 20, the 30-year-old wrestling specialist will lock horns with surging #3-ranked contender Ayaka “Zombie” Miura in a pivotal atomweight MMA tilt.
That bout will be Phogat’s first appearance since 2022.
After blazing to a 7-1 start in ONE, she reached the final of the 2021 ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Grand Prix and was on the precipice of true greatness.
However, Phogat would drop two fights in a row against elite opponents and then decided to put a pause on her MMA career. During her time away, she and her husband welcomed a baby boy into the world.
Now ready for her highly anticipated return to action, “The Indian Tigress” told onefc.com that motherhood has given her some extra inspiration:
“Becoming a mother is a wonderful feeling, but my perspective on the game remains the same. Yes, now I do feel a little more that I need to move forward for my child.”
Although she wasn’t competing over the past few years, Phogat kept the sport of MMA at the forefront of her mind, trained as much as she could through pregnancy, and has continued to sharpen her game during motherhood.
She admitted that training at an elite level while simultaneously caring for a newborn was no easy task. But with the steady support of her family and in-laws, she’s been able to put in the time needed to succeed at the world-class level:
casino sign up bonus“Handling training alongside taking care of the baby is really tough. Maybe if I were alone, I wouldn’t have been able to manage it as well, but my family has been a huge help in allowing me to practice and focus on my game.”
Ultimately,og777 app motherhood doesn’t conflict with Phogat’s goals.
She’s now returning to fighting and chasing her dream of becoming a ONE World Champion in order to inspire her son and show him the importance of hard work:
“Now, I don’t fight for myself, but for my child. This makes me stronger because when my child grows up, he’ll know how much effort his mother put in. That’s what motivates me the most.
“Family also plays a big role in this. Earlier, it was my parents and sisters, and after marriage, it’s my husband and his family. Now, I have the support of two families, which makes things a bit easier.”
Despite her time on the sidelines, Ritu Phogat has remained steadfast in her goal of one day wearing 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold.
Doing so, she said, would prove that India is home to the planet’s top mixed martial artists:
“My goal is the same – to become India’s first female MMA World Champion. I want to show the world that India also has the best fighters. I will keep working hard until I achieve it.”
Hockey India on Wednesday (August 28) named an 18-member squad led by ace drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh for the tournament, with Krishan Bahadur Pathak expectedly being promoted to main goalkeeper duties following PR Sreejesh's international retirement.
Sreejesh announced his retirement after India won a second successive Olympic bronze medal in Paris earlier this month.
What’s more, Phogat hopes to dispel outdated Indian stereotypes about women – particularly mothers.
Beyond inspiring her own child, she aims to show other family matriarchs what they’re truly capable of accomplishing:
“One of my motivations for making a comeback is to challenge this mindset in India that a mother should stay at home and only take care of the child after giving birth. I want to show everyone that a mother can do whatever she sets her mind to. This is the biggest reason for me to fight.”
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