Pro Panja League: Madhya Pradesh Cop Sachin Bhadoria Making Mark IN Niche Sport

In the niche sport of arm-wrestling or Panja as one refers to it in the Indianised version, brute physical power and discipline and technique are essential ingredients for success and Sachin Bhadoria from Madhya Pradesh is an embodiment of it.

The 39-year-old Head Constable from Gwalior is all geared up for the second season of the Pro Panja League to be held in Gwalior from August 5 and shared his thoughts with The Free Press Journal.

"I had played the first season for Ludhiana Lions. It was a great experience. The hospitality and arrangements were very good and it was a grand atmosphere. It was a huge platform and opportunity for us players. I had faced the camera for the first time and the chance to perform in front of the VIPs was something different. I have played many sports from my younger days," he added.

Bhadoria was drawn to the sport by its simplicity and potential.

"You can maintain your fitness and you don't need much to play the sport. You need very few resources to actually play the game," he added.

Talking about his initiation into the game, Bhadoria attributed Manish Kumar from Gwalior for introducing him to the sport and revealed that he had great physical strength during his younger days which also aided him.

" I felt I had extraordinary physical ability for different sports. When I used to play Shot Put, Weightlifting I felt that I had more physical power than others. In 2017, Manish Kumar in Gwalior who was disabled was a World Medallist in arm-wrestling and I was working in the Police in Gwalior.

Manish sir was the one who introduced me to Panja. I had read about arm-wrestling in newspaper and he suggested me to do rope climbing and he felt I had the requisite power.

Sachin mentioned about his popularity among his fellow policemen and their support as well.

"They feel good and happy that their colleague is playing. Even my senior officers are happy and co-operate with me," he added.

Sachin has been a Head Constable since 2021 and joined the police force in 2007.

The MP man stated he looks upto Indian weightlifting legend Karnam Malleshwari as an inspiration as he too was interested in weightlifting since a very young age.

The arm-wrestler stated that the most important things to remember while into Panja was strength, tactic and technique to stay away from injuries.

"Playing from bad angles can also create problems," he added.

Talking about his expectation with Ludhiana Lions in the upcoming season, Sachin stated that he wants to repose the faith of the franchise.

" If my team is putting faith, then I have to fulfill their expectations by winning my fights. It can go to 3-5 rounds," he added.

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