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Ritu Phogat on MMA final match in Singapore: I don’t like to take stress
Ready for the MMA finale fight in Singapore, today, Ritu Phogat speaks about gond ke laddu, maa ke haath ki chutney and eating panipuri in Little India. Her life for the past two years has been in a home away from home.
New Delhi
Former wrestler and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Ritu Phogat is all set to take on Thai kickboxer and MMA artist Stamp Fairtex, in MMA finals in Singapore, today. She won her last fight in October, and hasn’t returned to her hometown in Haryana (India) since two years. Spending the pandemic in Singapore, and training for MMA, she says, “Maine ghar se gond ke laddu mangwaye. I tried finding some here but utne achche nahi the. Ghar ki bahut cheezein yaad aati hain... but jab match hota hai toh pura focus ussi par hota hai... Aur ab toh Singapore mein kaafi Indians mujhe jaan ne lage hain.”
In a recent video that was uploaded by her on social media, Phogat can be seen getting mehendi applied on her hands, savouring golgappas and dancing in the run-up to the fight day. “I don’t like to take stress a lot. To make myself feel better, I read books and groove to music a little. I don’t know how to dance (laughs) but I love to dance. It’s also an exercise.”
Preparing for the crucial One Championship, Phogat says the two pre-fight rituals that remain constant for her are - praying and video calling her father and elder sisters Geeta and Babita Phogat. “Har match se pehle mai bhagwan ko yaad karti hun, Bajrang Bali ki puja karti hu, and I video call my father and elder sisters. Mere liye yeh ghar ki calls bahut important hain kyunki yeh mujhe ek nayi energy deti hain aur mujhe yeh remind karati hain ki vahan jaakar kya karna hai. That energy I try to bring in my fights... Papa (Mahavir Singh Phogat) yahi kehte hain ki apni mehnat vahan jaakar dikhana... apne opponent ke move ka wait nahi karna, jo tujhe karna hai voh karke aana hai. Unke shabd mujhe motivate karte hain.”
“Ghar se door ghar waali feeling” comes to this younger Phogat as she stays connected with her home in small ways: “Ghar ki bahut cheezein yaad aati hain. Maa ke haath ki chutney aur family ke saath baithna, time spend karna, sab yaad aata hai.... Yaha Singapore mein ab kaafi Indians mujhe jaanne lage hain. Little India is a colony here where a lot of Indian families live, so I like going there. Ab toh golgappe aur panipuri itni pasand nahi hai, but jab bahut zyada mann karta hai toh Little India mein jaakar khaati hu. Wahan jaakar India jaisi feel aati hai.”
Ask about her mehendi and she chuckles sharing, “Kuchch nahi, bas haath thode sundar lagane lag gaye. When I went to a salon in Singapore; vahan mehendi rakhi hui thi toh meine kaha ki mere haath par bhi laga dijiye. Bas itna hi...”
With an enviable MMA record of seven wins and one losing match, she opines, “Logon ne sirf meri success dekhi hai, but the story of me being out of the country in Singapore, family se dur, jahan koi jaan pehchan nahi hai and how I suffered and sacrificed, especially when Covid was so challenging... I want all that to be shown on the screen. I want people to feel inspired by my story, especially those who give up easily without putting up a fight!”
The story of her elder sisters, Geeta and Babita made Aamir Khan-starrer film Dangal a blockbuster at the box office. But who would Ritu would want, to play her, if her journey is adapted for the screen? “Mera kirdar mujhse behtar koi nahi samjhega, toh mein chahti hu ki mera role mai khud hi play karun,” she says, adding, “Dangal movie showed the struggle of my elder sisters and how they rose in wrestling coming from a city and state jahan ladkiyo ko itni freedom nahi hai. Mein bilkul chahungi ki Dangal 2 aaye.”
Author tweets @siddhijainn
