ONE Championship: Itsuki Hirata’s illness leaves seemingly-cursed atomweight grand prix reeling, again
- Japanese star becomes the second fighter to withdraw from semi-finals, after coming down with a high fever
- Jenelyn Olsim steps in to face Ritu Phogat in Singapore, in latest dramatic change-up to a tournament beset with delays and bad lack
ONE Championship simply can’t catch a break when it comes to its seemingly-cursed atomweight grand prix.
The latest in a long line of blows to hit the eight-woman tournament? Itsuki Hirata has withdrawn from her semi-final against Ritu Phogat, which was set for Friday night’s ONE NextGen card in Singapore.
The 22-year-old Japanese star (5-0) returned a negative PCR test for Covid-19 on Monday, but said she had a high fever and couldn’t even walk.
“I’m truly sorry to Ritu Phogat, sponsors, fans who supported me, and ONE staff,” Hirata wrote on her Instagram and Twitter accounts. “I’m grateful to have been selected for this tournament, even though I didn’t have a good enough career or record compared to others.
“I fought hard to be in the semi-finals. It is regretful that I have to pull out at this stage and disappoint many people. I will recover and be back in [the] ONE Circle as soon as possible. Thank you.”