The inaugural edition of Pro Panja League saw thrilling matches with Ludhiana Lions and Kiraak Hyderabad picking up scintillating wins at the IGI Stadium in New Delhi. To add to the delight of the fans, popular Pro Kabaddi League star Rajesh Narwal came to witness the action, and praised Pro Panja League for giving youngsters a chance to make a name for themselves.
“The matches were very competitive and I thoroughly enjoyed my time. Pro Panja League is giving a stage for arm wrestlers from the country to showcase their talent. I wish the players all the best for the remainder of the tournament.” To kick off the action, Shahil Hussain and Madhura KN gave Kiraak Hyderabad an early lead in the undercard, getting a 2-1 lead. In the main card, Kiraak sent Siddharth Malakar against Mumbai’s Arpan Kar in a 90kg bout, who used Arpan’s tendon injury to his advantage. With a clean top roll in the Challenge Round, Arpan confirmed a 10-0 win for Kiraak. In the second bout, Madhura returned to face off against Priya Verma from Mumbai and earned her second win of the night by a clean sweep to earn 5 points for Kiraak. Butta Singh from Kiraak faced off against Mumbai’s Chandan Kumar Behera in the final bout of the night. Chandan, this time, used the Challenger Round to help Mumbai get 10 points. Butta Singh’s faulty review call hurt his side, but Kiraak managed to get a 17-11 win on the night.
Earlier, Ludhiana Lions took on Rohtak Rowdies in the first match. With Rita Sengnerpi and Nizamuddin getting wins in the undercard, Rohtak took a 2-1 lead. In the main card, first up was a mouthwatering clash between Rowdies’ Karaj Virk and Lions’ Tawheed Shaikh in the 90kg category. Karaj made an early shoulder movement after Tawheed called for a Challenger Round. But the Master Referee called for a rematch as both players had committed fouls.
Tawheed won the rematch with ease, getting a 10-0 victory. Next up, Dilshad from Ludhiana stunned Rohtak’s Sanjay Deswal in the 100kg category, using the top press to get a clean sweep to win. In the final bout, Aryan Kandari used the Challenger Round smartly to get a 10-0 win for Rohtak Rowdies against Ludhiana’s Rahul Kumar but was unable to change the result of the match. Ludhiana Lions won the match 16-12. Kochi KD’s will take on Mumbai Muscle and Ludhiana Lions will face Kiraak Hyderabad on Friday.
