The city of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh became the hub of arm-wrestling when the Pro Panja League, Asia’s premium-arm wrestling competition, held its three-day Ranking Tournament in July. The tournament saw over 600 arm-wrestlers from all over India compete in thrilling rounds of arm-wrestling matches across 10 weight categories, which also included a Specially-Abled category. To add to the glamour of the event, international arm-wrestling Legend Michael ‘The Monster’ Todd also graced the show with his presence. The 23-time World Champion, who hails from Arkansas, United States, was the Chief Guest at the event along with his wife Rebecca ‘Mrs. Monster’ Todd, and Asian Arm-Wrestling Federation President Mr Jeenbek Mukambetov.
The Preliminary rounds of the competition took place at the prestigious The Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, while the Final took place amid the historical ramparts of Gwalior Fort, becoming the first-ever show of its kind to take place at the breathtaking venue. The city of Gwalior showed up in large numbers to witness never-seen-before arm-wrestling action at the Gwalior Fort, as the athletes competed in closely-contested matches that went right down to the wire.