&nbsp;Competing at the Olympic Games is the dream of most athletes but&nbsp;Indian&nbsp;wrestler&nbsp;Ritu&nbsp;Phogat&nbsp;has always wanted to script a different destiny.

Phogat&nbsp;won gold at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship but switched to the combat sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) in February, much to the disappointment of India's wrestling federation who saw her as a strong medal contender in the 48kg category at Tokyo 2020.

Phogat, who will make her&nbsp;MMA&nbsp;debut against South Korea's Kim Nam-hee at One Championship's Age of Dragons event in Beijing on Saturday, says she never gave much thought to qualifying for the Olympics.

"It never crossed my mind," she told Reuters by telephone from Singapore where she trains. "I always wanted to do something different. Script my own journey on the international stage.

"I want to win a&nbsp;World&nbsp;Championship belt for India. I want to be the first in mixed martial arts to win that for my country."

The 25-year-old is from one of India's most famous wrestling families.

She started in the sport aged eight, under the tutelage of her&nbsp;wrestler&nbsp;father Mahavir Singh and followed in the footsteps of her elder sisters Babita and Geeta, who have both won Commonwealth Games gold.

Their cousin, Vinesh, is one of India's top medal hopes for Tokyo.

The&nbsp;Phogat&nbsp;sisters achieved cult status in 2016 when the film 'Dangal', which is based on the family's story, became the highest-grossing&nbsp;Indian&nbsp;movie ever made.

Before they were famous, however, growing up in their village in Haryana was tough.

"We struggled to fit into society,"&nbsp;Ritu&nbsp;Phogat&nbsp;said. "Our family was surrounded by naysayers in those early days, but we had each other for support. Together we found a way to block out all the outside noise."

The sisters are very close – Babita and Geeta sprung to&nbsp;Ritu's defence when her decision to quit wrestling drew criticism on social media earlier this year.

MMA&nbsp;is the third-most popular sport in the&nbsp;world, behind soccer and basketball, according to Nielsen. India alone accounted for nearly 100 million viewers last year, Rajesh Kaul, the head of Sony Pictures Networks India's sports business, told the Hindu newspaper March.

Phogat, who discovered&nbsp;MMA&nbsp;on YouTube at the age of 18, said her decision to sign for the Asian promotion One Championship in February was a "no-brainer".

"I see this sport growing by leaps and bounds in India," she said. "My debut will be shown live on TV and I hope it inspires the next generation ... Our country is changing. Young girls now have a platform for take up any sport."

Phogat&nbsp;has trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing and muay Thai ahead of her&nbsp;MMA&nbsp;bow but she remains a&nbsp;wrestler&nbsp;at heart.

"My natural style makes it much easier to control all the takedowns ... I hope I can use that to my advantage," she said.

Competing at the Olympic Games is the dream of most athletes but Indian wrestler Ritu Phogat has always wanted to script a different destiny. Phogat won gold at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship but switched to the combat sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) in February, much to the disappointment of India's wrestling federation who saw her as a strong medal contender in the 48kg category at Tokyo 2020.

Competing at the Olympic Games is the dream of most athletes but Indian wrestler Ritu Phogat has always wanted to script a different destiny. Phogat won gold at the 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship but switched to the combat sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) in February, much to the disappointment of India's wrestling federation who saw her as a strong medal contender in the 48kg category at Tokyo 2020. Phogat, who will make her MMA debut against South Korea's Kim Nam-hee at One Championship's Age of Dragons event in Beijing on Saturday, says she never gave much thought to qualifying for the Olympics. "It never crossed my mind," she told Reuters by telephone from Singapore where she trains. "I always wanted to do something different. Script my own journey on the international stage. "I want to win a World Championship belt for India. I want to be the first in mixed martial arts to win that for my country." The 25-year-old is from one of India's most famous wrestling families. She started in the sport aged eight, under the tutelage of her wrestler father Mahavir Singh and followed in the footsteps of her elder sisters Babita and Geeta, who have both won Commonwealth Games gold. Their cousin, Vinesh, is one of India's top medal hopes for Tokyo. The Phogat sisters achieved cult status in 2016 when the film 'Dangal', which is based on the family's story, became the highest-grossing Indian movie ever made. Before they were famous, however, growing up in their village in Haryana was tough. "We struggled to fit into society," Ritu Phogat said. "Our family was surrounded by naysayers in those early days, but we had each other for support. Together we found a way to block out all the outside noise." The sisters are very close – Babita and Geeta sprung to Ritu's defence when her decision to quit wrestling drew criticism on social media earlier this year. MMA is the third-most popular sport in the world, behind soccer and basketball, according to Nielsen. India alone accounted for nearly 100 million viewers last year, Rajesh Kaul, the head of Sony Pictures Networks India's sports business, told the Hindu newspaper March. Phogat, who discovered MMA on YouTube at the age of 18, said her decision to sign for the Asian promotion One Championship in February was a "no-brainer". "I see this sport growing by leaps and bounds in India," she said. "My debut will be shown live on TV and I hope it inspires the next generation ... Our country is changing. Young girls now have a platform for take up any sport." Phogat has trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing and muay Thai ahead of her MMA bow but she remains a wrestler at heart. "My natural style makes it much easier to control all the takedowns ... I hope I can use that to my advantage," she said.

Wrestler Ritu Phogat ready for tilt at MMA world title

Mark&nbsp;Williams&nbsp;stayed true to his word after clinching his third world snooker title on Monday (May 7) by conducting his post-match news conference naked.

The 43-year-old, who had promised to strip off if he won, beat Scotland's John Higgins 18-16 in a dramatic final to become the event's oldest winner for 40 years, since his compatriot Ray Reardon won aged 45 in 1978.

The Welshman wins the title for the first time in 15 years and adds to his crowns from 2000 and 2003.

Williams&nbsp;had considered retiring last year after failing to qualify for the World Championships, but victories at the Northern Ireland Open and German Masters earlier this year were his first ranking titles since 2011

The three-times world champion looked forward to returning to the Crucible next year and promised to outdo himself if he defended his title.

"To be honest, if I won this next year I'd cartwheel down here naked," he said.

Mark Williams had promised to strip off if he won. 'If I won this next year I'd cartwheel down here naked,' he said

Mark Williams stayed true to his word after clinching his third world snooker title on Monday (May 7) by conducting his post-match news conference naked. The 43-year-old, who had promised to strip off if he won, beat Scotland's John Higgins 18-16 in a dramatic final to become the event's oldest winner for 40 years, since his compatriot Ray Reardon won aged 45 in 1978. The Welshman wins the title for the first time in 15 years and adds to his crowns from 2000 and 2003. Williams had considered retiring last year after failing to qualify for the World Championships, but victories at the Northern Ireland Open and German Masters earlier this year were his first ranking titles since 2011 The three-times world champion looked forward to returning to the Crucible next year and promised to outdo himself if he defended his title. "To be honest, if I won this next year I'd cartwheel down here naked," he said.

Following world title win, snooker champ turns up to press conference 'naked'

world-title-win

World Title Win, News on World Title Win, stories on World Title Win, articles on World Title Win, World Title Win stories at Wion, World Title Win news, World Title Win latest news

world title-win

Wrestler Ritu Phogat ready for tilt at MMA world title

Following world title win, snooker champ turns up to press conference 'naked'