Ritu Phogat admits seeing father Mahaveer's soft side for the first time post COVID-19

2016 Commonwealth gold medalist Ritu Phogat has been through a tough four-month period amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Ritu's sisters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari are also Commonwealth medalists and rose to fame after Aamir Khan's 2016 sports drama Dangal, where the Bollywood star played the role of Mahaveer Phogat, their father and trainer. The patriarch of the Phogat wrestling family is not known to be soft-hearted and Dangal's soundtrack had a special mention for him, with the song 'Haanikaarak Bapu' based on Aamir Khan's character. However, Mahaveer Phogat has ditched his gruff version for daughter Ritu Phogat, who is currently all alone in Singapore. 

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Ritu Phogat admits mental battle during COVID-19 lockdown, seeing father's soft side

Ritu Phogat had a promising start to her Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) career winning both her bouts so far before the COVID-19 lockdown dampened her preparations. Phogat had shifted base to Singapore last year to participate in Evolve MMA and while she has started spectacularly, she is still early in her MMA education and is very much a beginner at the striking aspects of the sport.

The 26-year-old had returned to India in February after her win over Taiwan's Wu Chiao Chen but flew back to Singapore days before the COVID-19 lockdown. Her practice at the Evolve MMA centre was also affected with Singapore issuing strict regulations to manage the spread of coronavirus. Since then, Ritu Phogat has been living alone in her flat and admits to being frustrated. Amidst the lockdown, Phogat told ESPN that her father would call her every night to check on her.

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Mahaveer Phogat was supportive of her decision to switch from the ring to a cage and was very concerned for her because of the unfamiliar surroundings his daughter is dealing with. The former wrestler added that she felt really lonely on her birthday, and would stay up past 1 or 2 AM just so she could play online Ludo with her Dangal sisters. Ritu Phogat's training also was affected but she revealed that she focused on home workouts to work on her fitness and conditioning.

Phogat said that in a bid to not lose her striking abilities, she watched YouTube videos and practices them a heavy punching bag to stay in shape. She revealed that she asked her former coach Drian Francisco to assist her virtually with sessions. 

Ritu Phogat said that the last few months have taught her a lot. She admits being attached to her family and while they are great wrestlers, they couldn't be of much help since they are far away and MMA isn't a sport they know much about. During the lockdown, Phogat reveals he read motivational books, learned to cook and practised meditation to avoid negative thoughts. Ritu Phogat is keen on finding the positives and believes her sole focus on striking will pay off when she steps up in the cage. Things are getting better for her as the Evolve MMA gym opened in the first week of June but contact training is still ot permitted due to COVID-19 guidelines. 

Also Read: Geeta Phogat Plans To Make Sensational comeback And Compete At Tokyo Olympics 2021

While One Championship, the promotion with which Ritu Phogat started her MMA career, had halted all competition since February 28 owing to the coronavirus pandemic, they are expected to resume competition in Bangkok on July 31. Phogat isn't competing there nor has she been given a date for her next fight but she expects to be competing within the next couple of months. Ritu might not know when she will step inside the ring again, she is ready to surprise everyone with her punches and is eagerly waiting for her next match.

Also Read: Babita Phogat Joins Online Campaign #NationStandsWithKangana, Calls Her 'lioness'

Aamir Khan's Dangal is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language biographical sports drama film directed by Nitesh Tiwari which is loosely based on the Phogat wrestling family. Dangal features Aamir Khan, who stars as Mahavir Singh Phogat, a pehlwani amateur wrestler who trains his daughters Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari to become India's first world-class female wrestlers. Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra portrayed the adult versions of the two Phogat sisters, Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar play their younger versions.

Produced by Aamir Khan Productions, Dangal was a record-breaking commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film ever, the fifth highest-grossing non-English film ever and the highest-grossing sports film worldwide. 

(Image Courtesy: Ritu Phogat Instagram)