PPL co-founders PARVIN DABAS and PREETI JHANGIANI have steadily transformed it from an offbeat pursuit into a professionally managed sport with a growing footprint in India. Providing crucial organisational support to the federation, PPL has played a central role in the successful staging of both the National Championship and numerous State Championships, creating a democratic pathway for athletes across the country.
The journey has not been without its challenges, but the steady rise in participation and viewership numbers reflects the sport’s untapped potential. From early proof-of-concept tournaments to large-scale televised events that now reach millions of households, the league has carefully balanced watchability, athlete engagement, and grassroots development.
In a conversation with Piyush Dhembare, Dabas and Jhangiani shared insights on the rise of the Pro Panja League and their plans to grow it further into a complete ecosystem.
EDITED EXCERPTS:
What was the inspiration behind starting a professional arm-wrestling league, given that the sport is not yet part of marquee tournaments and is generally viewed as an offbeat sport?
The idea was that it had a lot of potential. We knew it wasn’t part of a lot of tournaments and wasn’t seen as a proper sport at that point of time. But we saw the potential in it, and the whole idea was that we should come into a sport where our presence makes a difference. If we were to come into cricket or kabaddi, there is already a lot happening there. Panja had a lot of potential but it had not been marketed properly or presentexd properly as a sport, and we had that vision to do it. Of course, it’s a long journey of showing people the potential and how it’s done professionally. It’s starting to pay off now, where people see it is very much a proper sport. It’s played around the world right now. We are in the World Armwrestling Championship in Bulgaria right now, where 75 countries and 1800 athletes are participating. A 40-athlete-strong India team is here, and we have already won 1 gold and 4 silvers (as of 17 September). So, it’s a sport that the whole world also knows. In India it’s known as Panja and it has its roots, but it’s also known around the world and played in almost every country.
Was the seed capital for PPL from your own funds or did you have strategic partners from the get-go?
We pushed it from the very beginning because it was very necessary to show it as a proof of concept to other people. Now other people are coming on board, Sunil Chhetri is there, and others are also very interested in coming on board. But initially we did not try to bring somebody else on board because it was necessary to be able to show what it is that we were trying to put together, rather than just showing a deck that this is what we were planning. Even before the first season, we had done some tournaments. Everybody had no idea how it was going to look because it was all in our head, so how do we expect somebody to come on board just on the basis of that idea. Now, sponsors are coming on board, people are seeing it as an investment opportunity, we have other partners like Sunil Chhetri, and it’s growing very fast now.
What is the biggest challenge for PPL, commercialisation or building a sustainable talent pipeline?
In any growing sport, the first 2–3 years the challenge is commercialisation because people are seeing it and also seeing how they relate to it. In cricket, people are not thinking much, it’s just like we need to see it because everybody is seeing it. But with a sport like ours, they want to see how their product also relates to the sport, how they engage and partner with us. That’s the process, but we are getting partners now like Royal Enfield, Nikon, and several others as well. Now people are starting to see the sport, understand the sport, and see how they would put out their product in relation to this sport and how it fits into the broadcast as well.
How do you identify and train talent for the league?
Regarding the talent pipeline, we have state championships, national championships, and also various tournaments. We keep picking up talented youngsters when we see them in tournaments. In the past, we had ranking tournaments as well, from where the athletes ranked themselves. Going forward we are going to have trials as well, so that is going to be a process where athletes will get the opportunity to be seen and to beat others. It’s a very democratic way of finding talent, we have a saying: “Aapki Kismat Aapke Haath”, you win and you are in. In the national championship there were more than 2000 athletes. There is a huge talent pool we choose from, and every year with the growth there are new and stronger athletes coming in who train exclusively in armwrestling.
As per the data, season 2 reached 250 million TV households and registered over 150 million social media views. What were the key strategies that drove this growth?
The key strategy is making it watchable. That is what I said in the first season also, that what we are looking for is eyeballs. Entertainment for me means watchability. We worked on making it watchable and engaging. That is the process we worked on, and that’s where our film backgrounds come into use. We understand what entertainment is, and we also understand the right balance we have to strike. So, when we look at views, it’s about making the sport watchable and athletes engaging. It’s a process of building a league and getting eyeballs, it’s been over a five-year journey.
How have big personalities and influencers like Vijender Singh, The Great Khali, and Rajpal Yadav helped extend PPL’s reach?
Of course they did. On the opening day itself, people watched and a lot of videos went viral. It helps a lot. Vijender is the face of Rohtak Rowdies, Khali is the face of Sher-E-Ludhiana. They came to motivate the athletes and the audience. Also, Khali has been putting Panja in some of his ads now, on his page he did a KFC ad where he put Panja into that as well. All of these things add up.
What has been the most fulfilling moment for you so far on this journey?
It’s still a journey. We feel there is a long path ahead, and without getting too excited by the numbers, the most important thing is making sure the franchises’ reach, profitability, and monetisation increase. Making sure that the growth is on path. There are a lot of things that are yet to be achieved. I always believe one should not stop and congratulate oneself too soon. Maybe after the tenth season we will stop and see, but before that it’s something you always need to keep working at.
Looking ahead, what are your plans to further develop PPL and elevate arm wrestling as a sport in India and beyond?
We have already announced we will be doing trials all over the country. We will be announcing those locations and dates very soon. There is huge growth of armwrestling throughout the country. We are doing other tournaments as well, we are doing something in Patna on 4–5 October. We are part of something called Sheru Classic and IHFF, which is going to happen in Mumbai in November. We did an event in April in Dubai, there are possibly more international events. We launched an app also, the SWEN app, which is in beta phase and will be launched soon. It will be the home for a lot of other armwrestling events around the country, for them to be seen and streamed. We are not just building a league, we are building an ecosystem. So, there are various parts of that ecosystem which have already been put into place, and various others which are still being put into place.