Despite COVID-19 pandemic, Ritu Phogat pushed forward in 2020

Bengaluru, January 6: In a turbulent year when global event and sports was brought to an halt due to coronavirus pandemic, India's MMA star Ritu Phogat kept going to end 2020 unbeaten.

If you followed Ritu "The Indian Tigress" Phogat's run through ONE Championship over the past 12 months, you know all about her incredible progress.

"The year 2020 was really good for me. I fought three back-to-back matches, and I think I improved in all of them," the Indian wrestling icon Ritu Phogat said.

"My first match went on for three rounds, my second match for two rounds, and just recently, my last match was over in the first round, so I think it was a good improvement.

"Last year taught me a lot, and I am feeling good about it. It was a great year for me."

In that first bout, Phogat picked up a unanimous decision win over "Miss Red" Wu Chiao Chen at ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE in February.

That was the only time Phogat went the distance, but doing so taught her some valuable lessons.

"I learn something from every match. My striking was below par in that match. My ground control was not great either, but I have improved a lot since then," she said.

There were no doubts about those improvements at ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX in October, as "The Indian Tigress" scorched Nou Srey Pov in the second round of a fight she was absolutely dominating.

"I was really excited for this match," Phogat recalled. "I started aggressively and it showed in the Circle, too."

She took that aggression and marched forward. Two months later, Phogat faced off against her toughest challenger yet, Jomary "The Zamboanginian Fighter" Torres, at ONE: BIG BANG.

On that occasion, "The Indian Tigress" used her elbows to score a first-round TKO win - and her third victory of the year.

"I really wanted to end the match with perfection. I started with striking, but once she started attacking me, it got easier for me to go for a takedown. I controlled the match to perfection and finished the contest," Phogat said.

"It was a really tough challenge because she is a great fighter, but she had no chance. Maybe it was just my day. I had worked hard for this, and I trusted my effort. I am happy that I managed to implement that."

After producing a solid run in 2020 - especially amid a global pandemic - Phogat is looking ahead to 2021 and sending a clear warning to every rival in her division.

"Fans call me by the name of 'The Indian Tigress.' I would like to say that the tigress has arrived and the atomweight division needs to be wary of me," she said.