Vriddhi Kumari from Chennai is the only Indian woman to win a medal at the recently concluded IMMAF 2021 in Abu Dhabi.
In the cage, as she was ready to fight, Vridhi Kumari could only think of her mother’s words ‘don’t give up’.
The 21-year-old from Chennai threw her best punch and kick to clinch a bronze medal in the atomweight category (Seniors) at the recently concluded IMMAF (International Mixed Martial Arts Federation) World Championship 2021 at the Palms Sports Arena in Abu Dhabi. With this, she became the first Indian woman to win a medal for the country in this category at IMMAF.
An excited Vridhi over the phone from UAE said, “It was my first international fight so I was very excited. Everything about it was different. Both my opponents were more experienced in international matches and winning titles. One was from Kazakhstan and the other from Ireland. But, I didn’t have any doubts or fears as we went with a concrete plan.”
A total of 400 athletes from 56 countries participated. The Indian contingent was dominated by athletes from Tamil Nadu, where six of the 12 delegates were from Combat Kinetics headed by Ajit Sigmani. Besides Vridhi, other athletes are Ganesh Raj Srinivasan, Lenin Prakash S, Shabarish Ayyanar, Syed Abdul Nazeer and Vijay Venkatesh. (After Tamil Nadu’s stellar performance in the last two national championships, winning a total of 12 golds, Ajit was made the coach of the Indian team.)
Vridhi started learning MMA (mixed martial arts, full combat contact sport, also known as cage fighting) a few years back in 2019 at the age of 19. Now, a two-time national champion, she says, “I did. Before joining Combat Kinetics, I did not do any martial arts. I have come only to learn, not with the intention of entering competitions.”
While she would be winning medals with her kicks and punches, Vridhi’s early interest was in boxing. “I wanted to box for self defence. Once I enrolled in Combat Kinetics, I found out about MMA, tried it and started loving it,” she says, adding that “there’s something interesting to learn everyday.”
She adds, “It has helped me grow as a person, my confidence and my lifestyle has also improved. I am feeling healthy now. When we travel for competitions, we get a chance to meet fighters of different nationalities, who come from different cultures, which is again a learning experience. ,
Talking about her training and workout routine, she says that she started with 90 minutes a day. Her training lasted three hours a day once she decided to compete. “Now it’s six to seven hours a day, six days a week.” Her training includes “calisthenics as well as weight training”. We do running, jogging and swimming to improve other aspects of performance.”
What should Vridhi’s opponents be concerned about in the ring: his kick or his punch? She laughs. “I think my punch is more powerful because I’ve trained more in it. But my partners have told me that my kicks also get stronger during sparring.”
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