Preeti Jhangiani on Thursday was named the President of the Maharashtra Arm Wrestling Association. The Bollywood Actor/Producer was appointed for the position because of her tremendous work in promoting the sport of arm-wrestling across India and abroad, and for the development of the arm-wrestling community across Maharashtra over the past couple of years.
Preeti, along with Parvin Dabas, launched the Pro Panja League in February 2020. Since its inception, the professional arm-wrestling league has gone on to become the biggest arm-wrestling promotion in Asia. Pro Panja League has held a couple of Ranking tournaments, multiple Mega Matches, and several promotional events across the country.
Since Pro Panja's previous Ranking Tournament which was held in Gwalior in July 2022 , the league has successfully garnered over 215 million social media views across all platforms.
After accepting the position, Preeti expressed gratitude to the arm-wrestling community of Maharashtra and made a pledge to encourage more women and specially-abled athletes to take up the sport of arm-wrestling.
"It is my honour to be appointed President of the Maharashtra Arm Wrestling Association. Together with Dr Shrikant Walankar, Shri Sachin Matne, Shri Pramod Walmadre, and our formidable team, we aim to promote Arm Wrestling in a big way in Maharashtra, as I have been doing as co-founder of the Pro Panja League as well," Preeti said.
"The sport of arm wrestling has a very low entry point financially but has large physical and mental gains. I aim to encourage more women and specially-abled athletes to enter this sport. I was born and brought up in Mumbai and Maharashtra is my home. I will always work towards the progress and empowerment of my Maharashtra and its athletes. Jai Hind," she added.
Dr. Shrikant Walankar, General Secretary, Maharashtra Arm Wrestling Association and Senior Vice President Indian Arm Wrestling Federation also congratulated Preeti on her new role. "I would like to congratulate the newly elected President of the Maharashtra Arm-Wrestling Association, Ms. Preeti Jhangiani. Her being the President of the Maharashtra Arm-Wrestling Association will surely empower and attract more women to take up arm wrestling as a sport. On behalf of the association, we have also started a training center for Arm Wrestling and Powerlifting in Nagpur for differently-abled citizens. We are trying to promote Arm-Wrestling in the state, especially among the women and differently-abled athletes," he said.
Maharashtra Arm-Wrestling Association is a public trust registered under the Society Act 1860 & BPT Act 1950 Govt. of Maharashtra. The upcoming 34th State level Arm Wrestling competition will be held in Pune under the leadership of Ms. Preeti Jhangiani.