Yuvraj Verma topped the field comprising winners of all weight categories of armwrestling to emerge ‘Champion of Champions’ in the event jointly conducted by Pro Panja League and Sheru Classic at the International Health & Fitness Festival (IHFF) Expo held in Mumbai over the weekend.
Yuvraj Verma defeated Atharva Bhagwat to make it into the top three and then prevailed over Sachin Goyal and Tawheed Shaikh in a round-robin format to be crowned as the Champion of Champions of the Mumbai edition of Pro Panja League x Sheru Classic Arm Wrestling Championship.
The three-day IHFF Expo, held in the Bombay Exhibition Centre from December 20 to 22, witnessed unparalleled adrenaline and strength as the Pro Panja League joined hands with Sheru Classic to continue their partnership at IHFF. The tournament brought together the best arm wrestlers in the country, competing across four weight categories and culminating in the spectacular Champion of Champions showdown.
The event’s opening day featured intense battles in the 60 kg and 70 kg categories with Shivam Chaudhary, Ayush Kaushal, and Mohit Raj claiming the top three spots in the 60 kg division, while Prashant Yadav, Shivank Mishra, and Altamash Khan excelled in the 70 kg category, the organisers informed in a release on Monday.
On the second day, the competition intensified with the 80 kg and 80 kg+ categories. Sachin Goyal, Atharva Bhagwat, and Ayush Singh Rajput emerged victorious in the 80 kg category. The 80 kg+ category showcased exceptional strength as Yuvraj Verma, Tawheed Shaikh, and Paarth Sonni dominated that division.
In the end, all the winners and runner-ups of the competition took on each other and clashed horns to attempt to claim the ‘Champion of Champions’ title.
Present during the event were Parvinn Dabass, Founder of Pro Panja League, President of the People’s ArmWrestling Federation India, Preeti Jhanghiani, and Manish Gandhi, founder of IHFF.
Parvinn Dabass was elated looking at the intense competition between the athletes. “It was wonderful to watch these professionals at work. Some of them have become stars and some are on their way to becoming stars,” he added.
“We want to extend a special thanks to IHFF and Manish Gandhi for collaborating with us and helping us promote Panja at his great fitness and health exhibition and take the sport to the next level,” he added.
Manish Gandhi echoed the enthusiasm and said, “It was great to bring Pro Panja League back to IHFF Mumbai. We have been partnering with Pro Panja for several years now to promote ArmWrestling at IHFF and the response and level of the athletes has always been fabulous.”