Pro Panja League
The Pro Panja League is a professional Indian arm wrestling league which had its first season in July 2023. There are separate competition categories for men, women, and specially abled players, and the tournament took place at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
History
The name of the tournament is based on "Panja", a word used in the Indian subcontinent to refer to arm wrestling. Starting in 2020, there were some exhibition events, tournaments, and matches held, which acquired about 275 million views on social media. Before the first season, there was a ranking tournament held at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, with the top 18 arm wrestlers in each of the 10 weight categories qualifying for the first season. The first season was won by the Kochi KDs.Rules
League format
Each team plays each other twice during the round-robin stage, and the top four teams enter the playoffs, which consist of two semi-finals and a final.Gameplay
Two players in the same weight category compete to overpower each other and score points over several rounds of a bout. In an "under card/prelim" bout, three rounds are contested, while in a "main card" bout, five rounds are contested. Three under card and three main card bouts take place within a single match, each featuring a different pair of opponents; the team whose players scored more points wins the match. In an under card bout, the player who wins two out of three rounds earns one point, while the loser gains nothing; in a main card bout, players earns one point for every round they win. In the final, five main card bouts are contested.At the start of each round, the players offer one of their hands while keeping elbows on a specially designed table, with a strap being bound around offered hands to avoid slippage. The players attempt to force their opponent's hand to hit designated touch pads on the table underneath their hands to win the round. There are various rule violations which can result in penalties against players. Two bonus points are gained in main card bout if a player wins without opponent scoring a point. Bout must be completed within 30 minutes. An additional challenge round can be called in main card bout. The player calling for the challenge round can win five bonus points if they beat opponent within 10 seconds; however, if it fails, the opponent earns five bonus points.