The historic Gwalior Fort in Madhya Pradesh became the hub of arm-wrestling as intense finals of Pro Panja League 2022 Ranking Tournament took place on Sunday at the scenic location. With Chief Guests Ashutosh Tiwari, Chairman of Madhya Pradesh Housing Board Pradesh, 23-time World Championship-winning arm-wrestler Michael ‘The Monster’ Todd, Rebecca ‘Mrs Monster’ Todd, and Asian Arm-Wrestling Federation President Mr Jeenbek Mukambetov in attendance, 20 arm-wrestlers competed in 10 thrilling bouts that lit up the city of Gwalior.
Arm-Wrestling Legend Michael Todd, who witnessed the entire finale action at the stunning venue, was left impressed seeing the level of competition as Kerala’s Tawheed Shaikh won his final thrilling bout against Haryana’s Karaj Singh in Men’s 90 Kg category, that went right down to the wire. Meanwhile, there were celebrations in store for Haryana as well as Yogesh Chaudhary defeated Kerala’s Jincy Jose to claim the Women’s 65+kg title.
In the specially-abled category, Chandan Kumar Behera (Odisha) picked up the win, after which Yazar Arafhat (Kerala) won his bout in the 60Kg Men category. Arya VP (Kerala) won the first female bout of the day, after which Rahul Panicker (Kerala) picked the win in Men’s 70kg category.
Chetna Sharma (Assam) won the Women’s 65kg bout, and Kerala’s Mazahir Saidu (Kerala) stunned his opponent in Men’s 100+kg category. Jagdish Baruah (Assam) won the Men’s 100Kg category after which the night saw the biggest upset as Asker Ali (Kerala) beat hometown hero Sachin Goyal (Madhya Pradesh) in the Men’s 80Kg match.
Speaking on the action, ‘The Monster’ Michael Todd said, “We have never seen an atmosphere like this. It has been an absolute pleasure to be here and to witness the hospitality and feel the love in India. I am deeply impressed by the level of competition here, and I am hopeful to return to India again in the future.”
Pro Panja Ranking Tournament Results:
Specially-abled
Chandan Kumar Behera (Odisha) def. Srinivas BV (Karnataka)
60 Kg Men
Yazar Arafhat (Kerala) def. Rudra Naik (Odisha)
55 Kg Women
Arya VP (Kerala) def. Shreya MK (Kerala)
70 Kg Men
Rahul Panicker (Kerala) def. Steve Thomas (Kerala)
65 Kg Women
Chetna Sharma (Assam) def. Neetu Verma (Delhi)
100+ Kg Men
Mazahir Saidu (Kerala) def. Dilshad MA (Kerala)
65+ Kg Women
Yogesh Chaudhary (Haryana) def. Jincy Jose (Kerala)
100 Kg Men
Jagdish Baruah (Assam) def. Sameer VT (Kerala)
80 Kg Men
Asker Ali (Kerala) def. Sachin Goyal (Madhya Pradesh)
90 Kg Men
Tawheed Shaikh (Maharashtra) def. Karaj Singh (Haryana)
Along with the co-owners, Mr Parvin Dabas, and Ms Preeti Jhangiani, Indian Arm-wrestling Federation President Hashim Reza Zabeth were also present to witness the action.
Parvin Dabas also presented arm-wrestler Asker Ali from Kerala with the special ‘Lt. Sunil Kumar Award for Player of the Tournament’.
“The show turned out to be even better than we expected it to be. Congratulations to all the winners who gave their all on the table and made a name for themselves. We thank Gwalior for hosting us and giving us a great time. We can safely say that Gwalior is now ‘Pro Panja country’! We will be back soon with more thrilling rounds of arm-wrestling. The journey has just begun,” Pro Panja co-founder Parvin Dabas said to close the show.
Over 600 arm-wrestlers registered their name for the Pro Panja Ranking tournament this time around. The Pro Panja Ranking Tournament, sanctioned by the Indian Arm-wrestling Federation, was co-hosted in Gwalior by the Gwalior Arm-wrestling Federation led by President Keshav Pandey Ji.
