NEW DELHI: The stage is set for internationally-acclaimed arm-wrestling star Michael Todd’s visit to India this month.
The 23-time World Championship-winning arm wrestler will be visiting India between 19th and 22nd July, ahead of Pro Panja League’s Ranking Tournament, set to take place between 22nd July and 24th July in Gwalior.
Todd will be visiting the capital on 19th July and 20th July. He will then be travelling to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra on 21st July and then on to Gwalior for the Ranking Tournament on 22nd July.
Speaking about his training schedule over the years, Michael aka ‘The Monster’, said, “I have always trained like an athlete, wanting my entire body to be strong. But the key to being good at arm wrestling is training the hand and wrist, which I now do daily.”
Over his tremendous career, Michael has won 23 World Titles and 36 National Titles. “It’s been a wild ride. I have competed in as many as 35 events in a calendar year since 2001 and have had a blast doing it. Not sure about my toughest, but my proudest win was my 2012 6-0 Vendetta win against Andre Pushkar,” he said.
During his stellar career, Michael picked up several multiple fractures in his arm and had to undergo a lengthy recovery process.
“Most of my injuries occurred when I did not have health insurance so, I would either train through the injury or around the injury. Coming back from my left elbow coming apart, literally meant starting over with the lightest weights I had ever lifted,” he recalled.
Multiple injuries also prompted Michael to learn and develop a new technique ‘King Move’, which garnered much attention in the arm-wrestling community. He also gained popularity because of the technique, and his name became associated with the move.
“I started using it out of necessity, due to my limited range of motion (ROM) and I would drop my body down to increase the height of my hand since I couldn’t close my hand closer to my shoulder,” he said.
Speaking about Pro Panja League, Michael said: “What Pro Panja League is doing is amazing and it is helping in creating a lot of excitement about this amazing sport. I can easily see the sport grow into something that the entire world competes in or enjoys watching.”
“As long as Pro Panja continues to put out quality events and continue to share and promote the sport via social media, there will definitely be very big things to come. I can only imagine it being extremely bright, considering all the hard work and efforts Pro Panja is putting into the promotion of the sport,” he signed off.
