FILE – Team Lakay’s Jenelyn Olsim. Photo from ONE Championship
MANILA, Philippines—It was a tough loss to accept but Jenelyn Olsim knows that one defeat won’t take her off the perch she worked so hard for to get to.
Olsim said her defeat to Ritu Phogat in the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix semifinal is nothing but a blip on her record and she vowed to take all of the lessons she learned against the Indian grappler and use them in her future fights.
“The first thing that crossed my mind after the loss is ‘I’m already here and I’m thankful where I am now because of the opportunities I’ve received,’” said Olsim in Filipino.
“I’m here, so why would I stop fighting? I was the underdog against Ritu.”
Olsim wasn’t supposed to be fighting Phogat in the first place but she was inserted into the semifinals of the Grand Prix after Itsuki Hirata pulled out of the tournament because of non-COVID illness.
The 24-year-old University of Baguio student was then called up to fight in four weeks’ notice and carrying two straight wins over Maira Mazer and Bi Nguyen.
While she did everything she can in the short time she was given, fighting against the more experienced grappler exposed Olsim’s weaknesses.
Phogat dictated most of the fight from the top position and although Olsim tried to lock in a couple of arm triangles and even an omoplata choke, she could not break the control of the Indian wrestler.
“It’s disappointing to lose but I’m more motivated to train and I know that I could’ve done better,” said Olsim. “And when I say that, it means that I can still improve. This isn’t the highest level that I can achieve, I know I can get better.”
“I’ll do everything I can to get to my maximum potential and to become better, because I know I can do it.”