Pro Panja League x Sheru Classic ArmWrestling Championship steals the show during the IHFF Expo in New Delhi

Rakesh Thapliyal

New Delhi: Pro Panja League (PPL) took the centre stage in collaboration with Sheru Classic and delivered an explosive series of ArmWrestling matches at the International Health, Sports & Fitness Festival (IHFF) Expo in New Delhi on 1st and 2nd June. With electrifying matchups across multiple weight categories, an intense Champion of Champions contest, and a high-profile mega match, the event drew massive crowds and was a showstopper during the weekend.

ArmWrestlers first battled it out in their respective, 60, 70, 80 and 80+ categories and the winners and runners up from each faced each other and competed for the Champion of Champion (COC) title. In this format all athletes take on each other and the three winners qualify to the next stage. The top three ArmWrestlers then lock horns with each other where the one who defeats the other two ultimately wins the crown.

In the opening rounds of the COC, Jogendra Yadav was defeated by Aabhas Rana, Harkomal Gill defeated Ajay Bhati and Tushar Awasthi defeated Amit Singh. Then in the next round, Tushar Awasthi defeated Aabhas Rana and Harkomal Gill to become the Champion of Champion of the Pro Panja League x Sheru Classic x IHFF Armwrestling Championship.

The audience were also treated to an intense mega match between renowned ArmWrestlers Kyle Cummings and Siddhant Kathuria in a high-profile fixture. Kyle won the first round taking a crucial lead in the match however, the Delhi boy Siddhant Kathuria bounced back to defeat Kyle 3-1 to complete an incredible comeback. Such top ArmWrestlers are soon set to feature again during the much-awaited season 2 of Pro Panja League scheduled to begin on 5th August 2025.

Parvinn Dabass, Co-Founder of the Pro Panja League, expressed his delight after the event and stated, “The energy, the crowd, and the level of competition were off the charts. Massive events like these and the crowd support prove that armwrestling is booming in India as a mainstream sport. The intense battle between Siddhant and Kyle was a spectacle to watch. I am excited to see such top ArmWrestlers in action during the season 2 of Pro Panja League coming ahead.”

Preeti Jhangiani, President of the People’s Arm Wrestling Federation of India and Vice President of the Asian Armwrestling Federation spoke on similar lines and stated, ” It was an incredible weekend for ArmWrestling. The enthusiasm from fans and the performances of our athletes made this event truly unforgettable. Watching the passion of fans and athletes inspires us to work on more events and promote this sport at a larger scale.”