COVID-19: Away from home, Ritu Phogat keeps herself busy with yoga, movies and books

Living away from family during the coronavirus-forced lockdown, Indian wrestler-turned-mixed martial arts fighter Ritu Phogat said she is using the break to increase her strength and stamina besides working on mental toughness. Ritu, who had registered her second win in ONE Championship last February, is currently based in Singapore and said she is taking this break as an opportunity to work on her skills and trains for around three-and-a-half hours a day. "With the lockdown in progress, going out of my home is not an option. Which is why I've created a schedule and I stick to it along with a workout regime at home right from basic exercises like running on the treadmill, lifting weights to utilising the ropes and punching bags to get better strength and stamina," she said.  "I have also been indulging in yoga, since I moved my base to Singapore to better my mental toughness," the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships gold medallist said.

Ritu Phogat keeps herself busy with yoga, movies and books

Apart from her daily training routine, Ritu spends her free time reading books and watching movies. "Whatever time I have after training, I spend it reading and watching movies. Currently, I'm hooked to 'The Secret.' Normally I don't get much time for myself but this lockdown has given me ample amounts of that," said the 25-year-old.. "Apart from reading, I've also been watching a lot of movies, and sports documentaries like 'The Champions.' This is probably the first time in my life that I am watching so many movies."

The daughter of legendary wrestling coach Mahavir Singh Phogat, and sister of Geeta and Babita of 'Dangal' fame, Ritu said being away from family has not been easy during these challenging times. "I'm missing the food cooked by my mother. Cooking food on my own is challenging but I am managing it somehow. I cook roti and sabjee at least once a day and I also play online ludo with my sisters a lot," she said.