"Arm wrestling is not just a sport of strength, but also of technique and stamina since it involves multiple back-to-back rounds to decide the ultimate champion,” noted Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, chief guest at the 7th All India Zoroastrian Parsee Gymkhana (PG) Arm Wrestling Competition (AWC) held at the PG grounds in Bombay on March 8, 2025. Pardiwala, renowned orthopedic surgeon, head of the Centre for Sports Medicine and director – arthroscopy and shoulder service at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, was a fitting choice for a sport where participants are prone to injuries to the shoulder and wrists. He stated he was "honored to be invited and delighted to see the participation of men and women of all ages…”
Above: young and old showcasing their strength
Top, l to r: Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala, Preeti Jhaghiani, Justice (retd) Shahrukh Kathawalla,
Diana Pundole, Ayesha Billimoria; above: officials from the Maharashtra Arm Wrestling Association
Meherzad Chinoy retained his title of Champion of Champions (Men) for the seventh consecutive year. Safna Doctor clinched the same title among females for the second year in succession. Participants from Surat, Poona and Bombay enrolled for the event.
PG is affiliated to the Maharashtra Arm Wrestling Association (MAWA) under whose auspices this event was professionally conducted, managed and judged. All participants competed in various categories based on age and weight via a professional weighing-in session to ensure fairness in the game. Judges and referees from MAWA (a state level, authorized non-profit organization based in Nagpur) ensured that scores and results were meticulously and accurately recorded.
"Arm wrestling is an age-old competition of strength that probably originated in ancient Greece,” the genial doctor told Parsiana via an email message. "Neighboring Persia was also enjoying the sport over 2,000 years… In the early 1970s when the World Armsport Federation was founded, India was amongst the first four members along with USA, Canada and Brazil to accept arm wrestling as an organized sport.”
March 8 being International Women’s Day, two dynamic women sports achievers were invited as guests of honor — racing car driver Diana Pundole and Ayesha Billimoria, three-time national champion in athletics.
Pundole, who resides in Poona, holds the distinction of being the first Indian woman to bag a national championship title in a sport dominated by men. "Despite facing ridicule, insults and criticism, her determination, focus and willpower helped her achieve victory in racing,” mentioned compere and co-host of the event Yaz Contractor in an email to Parsiana.
Earning the title of Fastest Girl in India, "Fitgirl” Billimoria is an athletics coach and movement specialist based in Bombay. Believing that training is a process of education, awareness and experiment and that sports and life go hand-in-hand, the TED X speaker aims at educating young children at the government school level and in rural India, stated Contractor.
Two strong and steadfast supporters of the AWC, Justice (retd) Shahrukh Kathawalla and Preeti Jhaghiani, actor and film producer, were special guests that evening.
L to r: Meherzad Chinoy, Safna Doctor;
1st row; Ness Wadia, Zorek Daruwala, Varzavand Dadachanji,
Vir Bagli, Farhan Irani; 2nd row: Vistasp Sanjana, Kaiomerz Desai,
Yazdi Todiwalla, Farzana Daruwalla, Karyna Hakim
Asking the champions the secret of their strength, Chinoy replied via a WhatsApp message: "Nothing special, I just do my daily routine workout, eat normal food. No special diet. In the fitness world, it is good to accept challenges,” he replied modestly. The 38-year-old fitness trainer works out at the Cusrow Baug gym "according to time availability.”
Doctor’s source of inspiration and motivation was the late Hanshi Percy Bahmani who "introduced arm wrestling to me,” she stated on a WhatsApp chat. (A stalwart in karate, Bahmani used to participate and win in the earlier AWCs.)
The 22-year-old is of the opinion that "anything is possible if you put your mind and effort into it. Just believe and trust yourself.” Besides arm wrestling the youngster has a passion for Kudo, a Japanese martial art, and is all set to participate in the Kudo World Cup Championship to be held in Bulgaria in July this year, notes an email from her father Adil. At the AWC she "gets to meet different people, encounter different strengths and get to learn from them and correct the places I lack in. That motivates me to participate again and again and reach the top,” Safna shared her winning mantra.
The tournament "played with a spirit of sportsmanship and camaraderie”commenced with the youngest in age category (men) and proceeded in ascending order of age and weight categories with the women’s categories held at half-time. Teams with innovative and quirky names such as Sylvester Stallone, Vada Pav Warriors, Protein Power, Fist of Fury, The Tormentors, etc were formed of four individuals each for the team event. From the first match to the final showdown, "seasoned veterans and rising stars displayed superb technique, solid strength and unshakable mental toughness,” mentioned Contractor’s email.
The youngest among the women was Diana Daruwala, all of 16 years. Sixty-nine-year-old Ruby Patel was the oldest. Jimmy Kateli (87) and 13-year-old Daaryuush Hakhamaneshy were the oldest and youngest participants in the men’s section.
A special tribute was paid to Bahmani who passed away last year.
From l: Mehli Golvala, Khodadad Yazdegardi, Rustom Jasoomoney
Percy Bahmani: source of inspiration
Comperes Hutoxi Doodhwala (l) and Yaz Contractor
While the 48 men were divided into nine different categories, there were only two for the 11 female participants.
The victorious contestants were Karyna Hakim (junior women under 18), Farzana Daruwalla (senior women, above 18) in the women’s events. The male achievers were Ness Wadia (juniors men, under 18, under 70 kg), Zorek Daruwala (junior men, under 18, 70-80 kg), Varzavand Dadachanji (juniors men, under 18, over 85 kg), Vir Bagli (seniors men, 18-30 years, under 80 kg), Farhan Irani (seniors men, 18-30 years, over 80 kg), Vistasp Sanjana (masters men, 30-50 years, above 80 kg), Kaiomerz Desai (masters men, 50-60 years, above 80 kg) and Yazdi Todiwalla (masters men, over 60 years). With 16 points, Team X far outdid the other teams and emerged the winners of the team challenge (comprising four players, age, gender, weight no bar).
With razor sharp focus and endurance, Kateli and Rumi Tatary, aged 83, battled it out, cheered on with every voice in the crowd, Contractor specifically pointed out.
Kathawalla, Dinshaw Tamboly, chairperson of the World Zoroastrian Orgaisation Trust Funds and Ervad Burjor Antia were the evening’s sponsors. The Competition was ably organized by Rustom Jasoomoney with the assistance of MAWA and with the steadfast support of PG president Mehli Golvala, vice president Khodadad Yazdegardi and their managing committee. Sound and lights were the purview of Mahiyar Engineer and Jamshed Havewala captured memories on video and camera. Hutoxi Doodhwala and Contractor compered the evening’s event.
The number of participants over the years has more or less remained constant. At the first meet held in 2016 there were 12 females and 46 males, while at the 6th AWC, 12 females and 50 males participated. The highest number of contestants — 69 — participated in the 3rd AWC in 2018, while the lowest count was in the subsequent year with only 34 registering. Over the years, the number of participants has fluctuated between 50 to 60. No competitions were held in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic and in 2023 as the Gymkhana grounds were reportedly not available.