Mumbai, Oct 28 (IANS): India bagged the runners-up position in the overall team standings at the Asian ArmWrestling Cup 2024, which took place at the Aurika Skycity hotel here, ending with a total medal count of 223, -- 63 gold, 100 silver, and 60 bronze medals.
The hosts finished second in the medal tally, finishing behind Kazakhstan, which is the number one country in the world for Armwrestling.
The Asian ArmWrestling Cup saw nine nations compete in six different categories: para, masters, sub-junior, junior, youth, and seniors in various weight categories.
Some of the notable winners in the Indian contingent were Denic Lalruattluanga from Mizoram, who won gold in the 80kg Right in Men’s Seniors, and Yogesh Chaudhary from Haryana, who bagged gold in the 80kg+ Left and Right in Women’s Seniors.
Denic Lalruattluanga went through a rollercoaster of emotions, losing his first match against Kazakh puller Islam Nurmanov. However, the Mizoram arm wrestler still managed to make it to the final, where he once again had to face Islam Nurmanov. This time around, Denic was confident that he had found a chink in the Kazakh puller’s armour and managed to get the better of him in the finals.
In the rematch, that took place because Islam was undefeated till the final, Denic, popularly known as the 'Strap Man'. flash-pinned the Kazakh puller to win gold for India, the organisers informed in a release on Monday.
Yogesh Chaudhary also had a difficult route to glory as she had to battle it out against a strong Kazakh puller, Arailym Kulzhemiyeva. The puller from Haryana got the better of her opponent in both hands to win a gold medal for her country.
The holding of the Asian ArmWrestling Cup was a big success for the People’s ArmWrestling Federation India (PAFI), which is led by President Preeti Jhangiani. They also hold the rights to the official Asian ArmWrestling Championship for 2025 and truly believe that the success of the Asian Cup bodes well for International ArmWrestling events taking place in India.
Reflecting on the successful event in Mumbai, the President of the PAFI, Preeti Jhangiani said, “We are extremely happy with the turnout of 325 athletes from nine countries around the world for the Asian ArmWrestling Cup. It’s another step in the right direction to help us prepare for the official Asian ArmWrestling Championship 2025 for which we will be announcing the venue soon.
"The Asian ArmWrestling Federation has shown their appreciation by calling this the best Asian ArmWrestling Cup held to date and we are confident of making India the centre for ArmWrestling events in the World. With the success of the Pro Panja League in 2023 and now the Asian ArmWrestling Cup in 2024, we are confident this will lead to a flood of international events in India,” she added.