A 2016 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships gold medal winner, Ritu who comes from the famous Phogat family of wrestlers switched to mixed martial arts earlier this year in a bid to create history.
"I used to follow mixed martial arts from 2012-13. I did not have much knowledge about it," Ritu told from Singapore on Friday.
Ritu had signed with a Singapore-based MMA organisation, EVOLVE MMA, which has the highest number of world champions.
"When I got the offer from them, I did not want to let go and I spoke to everyone in the family. They were very supportive."
"I used to watch martial arts on YouTube from 2012. I did not know where it is trained. But I would always ask myself, why India does not have a fighter here. This was always there in my head," said the 25-year old.
Ritu is currently concentrating on improving her strength, agility, and speed. She trains twice a day on different martial arts like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, wrestling and boxing.
On November 16 in the One Championship, Ritu will take on Cindy Tiong, a veteran kickboxer from Malaysia who is also making her professional mixed martial arts debut.
"I am nervous. It's my first match in the World Championship. I have confidence in my abilities and I will put my best foot forward."
Asked about her aim, Ritu, who became the first Indian to win silver at the World U-23 Wrestling Championships in 2017, said: "I want to win the World Championship belt for India. This has never been done before. I want to be the first in mixed martial arts to win that for my country. Hopefully in the next two years, I can achieve my goal. I am working really hard for that."
Ritu said she does miss wrestling, but she is focused on her goal at the moment and is not thinking about making a return in the near future.
"It's in my blood. So I do miss wrestling but here also there is training in wrestling. At the moment, all my focus is on mixed martial arts. I am not thinking too far ahead."
Ritu also spoke about cousin Vinesh Phogat who recently sealed an Olympic berth for Tokyo and is considered a bright medal prospect.
"She missed her medal last time (Rio 2016) due to injury. That was heartbreaking. Now she has qualified again and the country has high hopes from her. I am hopeful that she will bring a medal for India," Ritu concluded.
( With inputs from IANS )