Indian Arm Wrestler Defeats World’s Strongest Body Builder

New Delhi: Rahul Panicker, the Kochi man has brought pride to the country on the national stage of arm wrestling. The current 70kg Indian National Arm Wrestling Champion, Rahul has added another feather to his glittering cap by beating the world’s strongest bodybuilder Larry Wheels.

The battle took place in Dubai, and spectators could be seen impressed by the determination of his talent. Rahul lost the first two matches, but came back to take the next three matches.

Rahul has already earned six national medals in the last ten years. He is a software engineer, but his interest in sports was a very natural choice.

“In my family, my father and his four elder brothers are all into fitness,” he says. 

Rahul’s father PT Panicker, a retired IRS officer, was a power lifter and had won the title of Powerman of India. While one of his uncles, Unnikrishnan Panicker, was a weightlifting champion who had even coached the Indian team, and the other uncle, M Panicker, is the secretary of Kerala State Body Building Association.

When Rahul was in studying class 12, he had competed at the district level arm wrestling competition but unfortunately he lost the match.

Later, when he was in his second year of college, he competed again and won the second position in the district level as well as in state level.

Ever since he became interested in arm wrestling, he has been dreaming to win a World Arm Wrestling Federation (WAF) medal for the country.

Apart from following a strict healthy diet, Rahul trains himself around three and a half hours thrice a week.