Commonwealth Wrestling Gold Medalist Ritu Phogat was born into a famed wrestling family, loved by millions of people in her home country of India. Her father, Mahavir Singh Phogat, is a legend in the wrestling circles, and trained several of her family members and leading them to the highest levels of the sport.

The Phogat family was even the subject of the 2016 hit movie, Dangal, which later on became the highest-grossing Indian film in history.

Needless to say, Phogat is used to being in the limelight. Phogat is set to get even more screen time now that she has been confirmed one of 12 guest athletes to join The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition – ONE’s unique take on the hit reality television franchise.

“When I heard about The Apprentice and how ONE Championship was making its own unique version of it a few months back, I was genuinely excited. I have seen snippets of the original show on television, so I know what it’s about. But now it would really be interesting to get to experience it in person,” said Phogat.

Phogat joins an incredible list of huge names in the martial arts ecosphere. Co-stars include ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera, ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee, ONE Flyweight Grand Prix World Champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, Karate World Champion “Super” Sage Northcutt, and ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan.

One athlete is expected to guest star per episode, and will participate in physical challenges, unique to this version of The Apprentice. Phogat is excited to participate in the said challenges, and looks forward to testing the contestants’ athletic abilities.

“As a world champion athlete, it is my job to tackle physical challenges on a daily basis. But that being said, staying healthy and paying attention to our personal health and fitness should be a priority for everyone. I’m excited to participate in the physical challenges at The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition alongside the contestants. It’s going to be fun,” said Phogat.

But aside from the physical challenges, there is a huge possibility that athletes will get to dabble in the world of business as well. 

At the very least, they can witness from the sidelines as the 16 contestants all vie for a chance to be called, ‘The Apprentice’, and earn the opportunity to receive a US$250,000 job offer to work directly under Sityodtong for a year as his protege in Singapore.

Phogat is looking forward to stepping outside of the ONE Circle for a brief moment, and discover a whole new world.

“I think I will really learn a lot from this experience and I’m looking forward to participating in the show. It’s a totally different kind of competition that I’m used to, and I’m intrigued. These are business matches and I think it will be a lot of fun,” said Phogat.

“The similarity between sports and business, I believe, is closer than we think. Both share similar themes like teamwork, personal growth, honesty and hard work, discipline, and of course, lots of fun. I think the marriage of the two worlds is going to be a smashing success.”

‘The Apprentice’ is one of the world’s biggest non-scripted reality TV programs in history that judges the business skills of a group of contestants competing for a job offer with a high-profile CEO. It has aired in over 120 countries. 

The first season of The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition, projected for release and distribution in early 2021, will consist of a total of 13 episodes.

Watch the previously recorded ONE: A NEW BREED II this Friday, 11 September, at 8:30 p.m. Singapore Standard Time (SGT) on meWATCH or by downloading the ONE Super App. Also, Channel 5 will provide a same-day delay at 10 p.m. SGT.

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