Ritu Phogat: 'Used to fight regularly with sisters when young'
Ritu Phogat shared a lesser-known story about her childhood days, revealing that she always had fights with her sisters Geeta Phogat, Sangita Phogat, and Babita Kumari, and to end the fight, their father Mahavir would bash all sisters by saying that it takes two to quarrel.
In an exclusive chat with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda's Facebook page, Ritu Phogat spoke extensively about her family. She mentioned that she did not have the guts to consult her father about switching to MMA. Hence, she approached her sisters to have a word with him. Besides, she also recalled how the Phogat sisters would quarrel with each other during their childhood days.
My father advises me to train so hard that I can knock out my opponents with just one punch: Ritu Phogat
Geeta Phogat and Babita Kumari have achieved much success in their amateur wrestling careers. Even Ritu Phogat was taking strides in this field before switching to Mixed Martial Arts. Sangita has also made progress in amateur wrestling.
Mahavir Singh Phogat played a massive role in their journeys as he trained them to become a wrestler from their childhood days. Ritu started her training at the age of 8 years. Like every other kid, she stated that even she did not enjoy waking up early in the morning. However, she later understood the habit's significance and regularly wakes up early now.
Since all sisters aspired to become amateur wrestlers, Ritu Phogat revealed that they always had fights when they were young. Remembering her childhood days, Ritu said:
"We would regularly fight when we were young as we had a wrestling background. Sometimes for small issues, while on a few occasions, for a serious reason as well. When dad caught us fighting like that, everyone used to get a beating because he believed that it takes two to quarrel."
Ritu Phogat added that she was quite mischievous when she was young, and her sister could not take so much beating as Ritu could.
Besides, the MMA Artist revealed if her father helped her with training even now.
"My dad does not have much knowledge about MMA, but he still tells me to strengthen my punch so much that I can knock out my opponent with just one hit," continued Ritu Phogat.Â
Ritu has been a part of two MMA fights, where she has recorded victories over Chiao Chen Wu and Kim Nam Hee. She will be keen to keep her undefeated record intact after returning to the ring.