JENELYN Olsim is disappointed to lose her chance to be part of the first all-female MMA fight card in One Championship, and is now left to root for Denice Zamboanga to deliver a win for the Philippines.
The 24-year-old Olsim earned her place in the alternate bout in the atomweight grand prix in One: Empower against Grace Cleveland, but the Thai-American pulled out due to a still undetermined medical issue.
“It's just so sad," Olsim said. “I, together with my team, were really preparing hard for this match.”
Olsim says she is ready to step up to the plate at a moment's notice should she be called up as an alternate in the Grand Prix.
“I'm staying positive despite what happened. I know that I am still an eligible alternate for the Grand Prix, and I know that there's still a lot of opportunities awaiting me, so I just have to be prepared every time,” she said.
Jenelyn Olsim
Olsim is eager to see Zamboanga take on South Korea’s Seo Hee Ham in the quarterfinals this Friday.
“I want to express my support to our kababayan Denice in her upcoming bout," she said
“I wish her good luck and more power."
For his part, Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao said he wishes for Cleveland’s speedy recovery.
“The whole team is praying for the fast and complete recovery of Grace Cleveland. Nobody wants to see these things happening, especially if it's a medical issue. So we can only pray that she can recover and that's really the most important thing for us at this time,” said Sangiao.
“Yes, it's unfortunate because we were all looking forward to this fight and Jenelyn has really been training hard for this. But we fully understand the situation and all we're after is everyone's health and well being."
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