India have bagged the runner’s up position in the overall team standings at the Asian ArmWrestling Cup 2024, that took place at the Aurika Skycity hotel in Mumbai. The hosts finished in second place in terms of the medal tally, that was only bettered by Kazakhstan, which is the number one country in the world for Armwrestling.
The Asian ArmWrestling Cup saw 9 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 the 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 armwrestler still managed to make it to the finals, 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 finals, Denic, popularly known as the ‘Strap Man’ flash pinned the Kazakh puller to win Gold for India.
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 the hands to win the Gold medal for her country.
The total medal tally for India was 223, including 63 gold medals, 100 silver medals and 60 bronze medals.
The holding of the Asian ArmWrestling Cup was a big success for the People’s ArmWrestling Federation India (PAFI), that 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, President of the PAFI, Preeti Jhangiani said, “We are extremely happy with the turnout of 325 athletes from 9 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 till 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.”
