Indian arm wrestler Monoj Debnath wins Silver in China Armwrestling Open
Bulldog Armwrestling celebrates Monoj Debnath’s Silver in China Open!
Monoj Debnath
25-year old Assam lad Monoj Debnath bagged the Silver medal in the Senior Men’s 63 kg (Right hand) category in the recently held World Armwrestling Championship. The D.1 Armwrestling China Open was held from 12th-15th September, 2019 in Shenzhen, China. Monoj is a professional arm wrestler and is registered under the URPA (Unified Rating of Professional Armwrestling) Ranking System. He is currently ranked World No. 1 in his respective weight category! Rankings available on www.armwrestlingranking.com.
Speaking to Bulldog Armwrestling from China, Monoj said, ”It is always a great feeling to represent my country. But it feels better to win a medal! Considering that it is my first international medal, it was a very emotional moment for me. I believe that, now with Bulldog Armwrestling and the newly formed Board of Control for Armwrestling in India (BCAI), Indian arm wrestlers have the freedom to participate in any local and international cash prize tournaments, and can seriously consider arm wrestling as a lucrative career option. I would like to thank my parents, my coach Arup Rajkonwar (aka Jantu) and all my friends for always believing in me.”
Monoj is promoted and managed by Bulldog Armwrestling and the tournament was organised by Professional Armwrestling League (PAL). A total of 32 countries took part in the second edition of the Top 8. The total cash prize across various categories was a whopping 100,000 USD! Monoj went on to win a total of 6 bouts against countries like Korea, Japan, China, Ukraine and Hong Kong. He went down to Russia’s Egor Leshtaev in the finals. The third place (bronze) was won by Japan. The cash prize for Gold, Silver and Broze medals was USD 1500, 800 and 500 respectively.
”This achievement was possible due to the hard work and dedication that I have for the sport of arm wrestling. I have been training rigorously and following a strict and disciplined schedule since the last 3 months before the championship. I was so focused and hungry to win that I didn’t even celebrate my birthday which was on September 4th. My next focus is on the 2019 IFA World Armwrestling Championship and Zloty Tur. ”
The Indian contingent in China comprised of a total of 6 pullers including Monoj from Assam and 5 arm wrestlers from Kerala. Shaju Ummer won the 8th position in the Senior Men’s 105 kg category.
Bulldog Armwrestling’s partnership with PAL has opened a floodgate of opportunities for Indian arm wrestlers to be able to compete at various international prize money championships. Post this historic partnership, several arm wrestlers represented India at international professional arm wrestling events. Pranjit Saikia and Deepak Das represented India at the 4th Premier 101 International Armwrestling Competition held in Kuching, Malaysia in April, 2019, where Pranjit achieved the 4th position in the Senior Men’s 86 kg (Right hand) category winning a cash prize of USD 100.
“I am not surprised at Monoj’s victory because I knew his potential right from the start. This is his best effort to date and it deserves a celebration! But for Monoj and Bulldog Armwrestling, the best is yet to come! India has the potential to be an arm wrestling powerhouse and there are so many pullers out there like Monoj, who need the right motivation and support to make their dreams come true. Bulldog Armwrestling is dedicated to these athletes who deserve the recognition they have been denied of, for a very long time. We have given Indian arm wrestlers an international and lucrative platform to do what they love- to ”pull”. I would also like to thank Monoj’s sponsors for the event- Kotak Mahindra and Rotary International, Dibrugarh, for their faith in Monoj and their contribution towards arm wrestling. We need more corporates and institutions such as them, to come forward and help our athletes. I am confident that with the support from corporates and the right management team, Indian pullers can reach the zenith of success!”
Ronnie Sehgal, CEO- Bulldog Armwrestling
India is all set to compete at the 2019 World Armwrestling Championship and the Zloty Tur World Cup to be held in December at Rumia, Poland.
Courtesy: International Federation of Armwrestling (IFA) and Professional Armwrestling League (PAL)
