Arm-wrestling gets stronger - 15th September 2023

Bollywood is making arm-wrestling popular in India. It's an ancient sport there, but it's growing bigger and bigger. That's because of two Bollywood stars, Parvin Dabas and Preeti Jhangiani. They set up a new competition – the Pro Panja league. Panja's the Indian name for arm-wrestling.

Different kinds of people do arm-wrestling.

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."

Panja's a team sport, in which the winners can take home $24,000. Each team must include men, women and people with disabilities. Some wrestlers use wheelchairs to move around.

In many regions, women are seen as home-makers and have few activities outside the home. But Farheen Dehalvi was helped by her husband. Now she's setting an example for young 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."

The Panja League was set up in 2020, but this is the first season it'll be shown on TV.

Perhaps it's not surprising that arm-wrestling has arrived at this point. It's a historic sport in India, and it now has some Bollywood magic. As it gets more and more attention, some hope it might become an Olympic sport.