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Panja is not just a sport, it’s a testament to the spirit of competition that transcends boundaries and brings people together. In the circuit of Armwrestling, Pro Panja League stands as a symbol of strength, resilience, and camaraderie. Speaking at the International Sports Summit Kerala 2024, Pro Panja League Co-Founder Parvin Dabas stressed the importance of sports in the country, image building, and the sports economy.
He said, “Sports is changing in the country and we have realized the soft power importance of sports in the country, image building, and also the sports economy. I saw the potential for Armwrestling or Panja as we call it, to be a sport of the masses or as we called it, ‘Bharat Ka Khel’. What is great about this sport is it has a low financial entry point for all kinds of players. We have been donating several arm wrestling tables across the country in schools and colleges to encourage community sport. We are the only league in the country which is all-inclusive. On one single platform, we have men, women, and specially-abled. They all get the same pay as per the ranking and they get the same facilities as well.”
“Now coming to Kerala, 40% of our Armwrestlers come from here. I am grateful to the Kerala Government for their support. Our first season winners were also, not surprisingly, the Kochi KD’s. So, I can say with utmost confidence that Panja has a huge community and athlete base in Kerala,” he added.
In a remarkable display of sports entertainment, the inaugural season of the Pro Panja League, which took place at the IGI Stadium in New Delhi, from 28th July to 13th August, witnessed a staggering 32 million unique TV viewers on Sony Sports and DD Sports and 300 million views on social media platforms. Sharing his thoughts on the same, he said, “32 million is a huge number but this time we are targetting 60 million. If you look at a per channel per day average, we are third in the country in our very first season after IPL and Kabaddi.”
Parvin also shed light on how the Pro Panja League is related to Sports Tourism. He said, “We launched Pro Panja League 3 weeks before the lockdown but unfortunately, we had the lockdown. We wanted to put it in front of big tourist destinations and once the lockdown was over, we were able to do that. We played the sport in front of Gateway of India, at Gwalior Fort, inside a boat in Bhopal Lake, and on top of the Majestic Pride casino boat in the Panjim River in Go. The idea was to make the whole area into a stadium and include the tourist destinations as the stadium.”
Parvin also made an important announcement regarding the Pro Panja League being held at a houseboat in the backwaters of Alleppey or front of Kochi Fort with support from the Kerala Government.
(With Inputs From Press Release)
