Arm-wrestling takes spotlight on TV - 15th September 2023

The sport of arm-wrestling's been granted a Bollywood style makeover. The newly televised arm-wrestling contest places this historic sport in the spotlight on Indian screens.

Launched in 1977, The Indian Arm Wrestling Federation's recently benefitted from collaboration and support from Bollywood idols Parvin Dabas and Preeti Jhangiani, who established the Pro Panja league, something which has undoubtedly injected the sport with a new lease of life.

Parvin Dabas: "Our athletes are literally sons and daughters of our soil. Somebody is a government servant, somebody is a gym trainer, somebody is a mechanic, somebody is a farmer. They come from all walks of life and come from small-town India, and that's what we love about it, that's what the audience is getting attracted to."

Arm-wrestling, referred to as 'panja' in India, is a team sport which awards the victor's potential prize money of $24,000. A prerequisite is that each team comprises men, women, and people with disabilities, including athletes who are also wheelchair users.

Women in India frequently have restricted freedom, with their roles conforming to tradition, but instead Farheen Dehalvi, was backed by her husband to display her muscular strength, and has been an inspirational role model for younger women.

Farheen Dehalvi: "Seeing me, girls are getting inspired. Now gyms have opened too, two gyms. Before I entered this league, we didn't even have gyms. Seeing me, two gyms have opened. We need to keep moving forward. It's very good, arm-wrestling."

While the Panja League was actually founded in 2020, this marks the first season when it'll be broadcast live, on the Sony Sports Network in India.

As the sport's deeply rooted in Hindu mythology, it should perhaps come as no surprise that with a sprinkling of Bollywood stardust, a new audience has arisen. It's brought fame and star status to the wrestlers themselves, and there's even talk of it joining the ranks of Olympic sports.