Jenelyn Olsim’s match against Jihin “Shadow Cat” Radzuan will have to wait for another day.
The Filipina fighter shared that she has suffered an injury during her training. This means she will have to, unfortunately, pull out of the ONE: Bad Blood card this Friday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
“I was supposed to battle Jihin on three weeks’ notice, but due to a bad accidental injury I had in one of our sparring sessions,” she bared.
“Our medical doctor diagnosed me unfit to continue the fight and told me that I need to physically recover.”
It’s tough news to take for Olsim, who was really looking forward to her return to the ONE Circle.
Putting up an admirable performance, she did find herself outwrestled by Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat in the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix semifinals. The match ended in a unanimous decision loss at ONE: NextGen last October.
“I was really looking forward to going back to fighting, and I had been preparing really hard for this,” she said. “I was so focused that I really wanted to win, but I won’t be able to perform at my best with my current condition.
“It’s upsetting, but it’s what needs to be done.”
Save for that loss to Phogat, Olsim has been impressive since making the jump to the women’s atomweight division. The Team Lakay rising star boasts a unanimous decision victory over Bi “Killer Bee” Nguyen at ONE: Battleground III back in August.
Despite this recent setback, the Southeast Asian Games silver medalist vowed to be back stronger than ever. And she only has one target once she gets cleared: Jihin Radzuan.
“We’ve been preparing to fight each other for the second time. This hanging match with her is making me more excited to face her for real,” she said.
“I can say that I’m 100-percent focused and I can’t wait to be back to train for her.”