July 22, 2019, 12:10 PM 
Nor Diana does not look like your average wrestler.
At just 19 years old, 155cm and 43kg, she is almost an imp compared to her peers in the sport.
Especially so, in a traditionally male-dominated sport.
She is also the world's first hijabi wrestler.
Champion
On July 6, 2019, she became the first female to win the Malaysia Pro Wrestling (MyPW) Wrestlecon Championship by defeating four men in the ring.
The MyPW is the Malaysian equivalent of the popular American World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Wrestling in Malaysia
Although wrestling is growing in popularity, the domestic version of the sport enjoys only a small following in Malaysia.
There are around 30 budding and established wrestlers, and shows take place around four times a year, in front of a few hundred spectators.
Wrestlers such as Nor Diana, however, are contributing to the sport's rising prominence in the country.
Wrestling games got her interested
According to Malay Mail, Nor Diana fell in love with wrestling at 14, while playing a wrestling game on her PlayStation Portable.
WWE stars such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, The Undertaker, Triple H, and John Cena captivated her, and from then on, there was no turning back.
She began to search online for wrestling schools in Malaysia, and chanced upon MPW's Facebook page.
She started training in late 2015 at the age of 15.
Her debut came within three months of training when she had to replace a colleague at a wrestling event.
At the time, she did not have an in-ring persona, or even an outfit.
Her hurriedly purchased outfit included a pair of pants with flames on it, which led her coach to dub her "Phoenix".
Using a mask to hide her hijab
Unsure of how the crowd would react to a wrestler wearing a hijab, she decided to fight wearing a luchador mask instead.
After several years of building her popularity as a wrestler, she finally took off her mask and revealed her identity in December 2018 at the MYPW Wrestlenation.
Although Malaysia is still considered a conservative Muslim nation, far from being criticised by conservatives, she has become a hit on social media, according to AFP.
Following her recent win, the 19-year-old has been booked almost every day of the week for various interviews by radio stations, newspapers and social media websites.
Despite her growing fame, she states that wrestling is not her end game, and she plans to continue her studies in the future.
She is fluent in English, something that she credits to her love of music, especially boy bands.
She intends to study something related to the media or graphic design, but wrestling remains her main focus for now.
She said after her recent championship: "Even though I am Muslim, and I wear the hijab, nothing can stop me from doing what I love."
Top image from Nor Diana/Instagram.
If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram to get the latest updates.