Barwani (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 28 : The Pro Panja League hosted mega matches in Badwani, Madhya Pradesh, on the holy banks of the River Narmada.
The event was co-organised in association with Manoj Patel of the Barwani District Association, and ArmWrestlers competed across five categories, as per the People's ArmWrestling Federation India (PAFI) press release.
Special guest MLA Rajendra Mandloi inaugurated Thursday's event. Also present were chief guest Shephali Tiwari, Central Jail Superintendent Narsinghpur, Co-Founder of Pro Panja League Parvinn Dabass, and Preeti Jhangiani, President of the People's ArmWrestling Federation India (PAFI).
Prior to the matches, the organizers performed a traditional 'puja' ceremony at the sacred site to seek blessings for a successful event.
The tournament began with the 60kg category, in which Sachin Tomar dominated against Shoaib Akhthar 3-0. In 65+ kg, Asha Kumar edged past Kritika Bamel 3-2, while in 100+ kg, Manish Kumar beat Sunil Anthony 3-2.
In the specially abled category, Devendra Yadav enjoyed a commanding 3-0 win over Manoj Patel. Lastly, multiple-time national and state champion and player of the Mumbai Muscle franchise of Pro Panja League, Jogendra Yadav, defeated Divakar Jadon 3-0 in the 75kg category.
About the event, Parvinn Dabass stated, as quoted by the Pro Panja League press release, "We're thrilled to bring Pro Panja League to Madhya Pradesh, that too on the sacred banks of the Narmada River. Promoting ArmWrestling as a sport while paying respects to our rich cultural heritage was a wonderful experience. We are taking the sport to exciting locations around the country, through which the audience discovers both the sport and unseen tourist spots of Bharat. We are committed to providing a platform for our talented athletes to shine from all across the country and we hope to see the sport grow even more."
Preeti Jhangiani spoke on similar lines and said, "As the president of PAFI and Vice-President of the Asian ArmWrestling Federation, I would like to stress on the importance of having such events all across the country. We have seen a massive growth in the number of professional ArmWrestlers and fans of the sport due to such events, and we promise to continue to explore more states and help athletes come up and showcase their talent."