India’s Biggest Arm Wrestling Event Ends On A HIGH Note!
Armwrestling Showdown URPA World Ranking Series – Guwahati ’19
Organized by Purna Bikash Sanstha (PBS) under the aegis of Professional Armwrestling League (PAL) and promoted by Bulldog Armwrestling.
Images from the Official Press Conference
The two-day arm wrestling mega event, URPA World Arm Wrestling series, organized by Purna Bikash Sanstha (PBS) ended on a high note on July 28, 2019, in GMCH Auditorium Guwahati.
Igor Mazurenko (PAL President) and Lakhya Konwar (Member Secretary – State Level Advisory Committee for Students and Youth Welfare, Assam) inaugurating the Armwrestling Showdown URPA World Ranking Series in Guwahati.
Champion Of Champions
The Champion of Champions in the men’s category was Paarth Sonni from Maharashtra and Mamoni Bayan from Assam won the title in the women’s category.
Total Participations
The event saw participation from more than 150 international and national champions arm wrestlers. The event was inaugurated by Lakhya Konwar (Member Secretary State Level Advisory Committee, Youth and Sports Affairs) along with Igor Mazurenko (President, Professional Arm-Wrestling League – PAL), Hridayananda Konwar (President, Organising Committee) and Ronnie Sehgal (CEO, Bulldog Armwrestling).
This is the first time that Assam witnessed a professional arm wrestling event of this caliber. World-renowned match referee Zill Fadli, from Malaysia, conducted the entire event under his watchful eye with assistance from experienced referees from Assam and members of Purna Bikash Sanstha, Bulldog Armwrestling and PAL.
Left-Assam traditional folk dance; Right- Igor Mazurenko and Kirill Yakovlev playing the Dhol (drum)
Speaking on the successful completion of the event, Hridayananda Konwar, President of the Organising Committee, said, “My aim while organising this event was to provide a platform where local arm wrestlers could compete with national and international players, interact with international referee’s and experience international level arm wrestling. My vision is to see arm wrestling become an Olympic Event in the near future.”
Igor Mazurenko and Kirill Yakovlev conducted a seminar on arm wrestling on day 1 of the event, where they imparted knowledge on the latest developments in the international arm wrestling. Day 2 witnessed a 12 hour long, arm wrestling marathon with matches across 19 weight categories (Left and Right hand) along with 2 Champion of Champions (COC) categories.
According to Ronnie Sehgal, “The URPA World ranking series in Guwahati was an extremely well-organised event and we are very happy with the outcome. This was the biggest professional arm wrestling event in India, in terms of number of participants, representation from various states of India and abroad. The aim of Bulldog Armwrestling is to give athletes an opportunity to make a living through arm wrestling. After our three consecutive events (one showdown and two URPA rankings) Indian arm wrestlers believe that it is possible for them to pursue a career in arm wrestling just like their international counterparts. We look forward to partnering with visionary leaders like PBS, with whom we can create bigger events to cater to this burgeoning audience.”
Local celebrities, government officials and media came out in full support for the event. The event concluded with the prize distribution ceremony where 40 winners across various categories were handed out medals, certificates and cash prizes, amounting to a total of 6 lakh rupees!
