From chess, Amritsar lad turns arm wrestling champ

Amritsar’s Ashish Suri, 22, won the Champion’s Trophy at Sirsa Open Arm Wrestling Championship which concluded in Sirsa, Haryana, on July 27. A former national chess player, he turned towards arm wrestling three years ago. His story is literally a changeover from brain to brawn.

Journey to success

• A former national chess player, Ashish Suri turned towards arm wrestling three years ago.
• At Sirsa, he clinched the first prize in 80 kg weight and 80 kg + open weight categories and also won the Champion of Champions Trophy.
• It was in Class 6 that he started playing chess and won the district-level tournament in 2015 and was also first in PSEB state Under-14 tournament.
• For the next two years, he maintained his first place in the PSEB district championship in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, he bagged the third place in the nationals.

At Sirsa, he clinched the first prize in 80 kg weight and 80 kg + open weight categories and also won the Champion of Champions Trophy in Sirsa Open Arm Wrestling Championship.

He wrestled for the first place in over 80 kg weight category in Ludhiana Open Arm Wrestling Championship held on July 20 instant. He secured the second place in over 80 kg open weight category in North Zone Championship which was held in Shimla on June 24 this year. He secured the first place in Muktsar Arm Wrestling Championship held on June 8.

He stood first in over 80 kg open weight category and got the Champion of Champions Trophy which was held on March 30 in Gurdaspur’s Dinanagar. He also got the first place in the 80 kg open place in Shimla North Zone Arm Wrestling Championship held on February 10.

Earlier, he bagged the first place in Punjab State Arm Wrestling Championship held last year. His winning streak continued last year. Noticeable among them was that he bagged the third place in Maharashtra’s Nagpur.

In 2023, he got the first place in arm wrestling in Punjab State Championship besides winning several championships at the district and state level.

“Panja Ladana (arm wrestling) is no longer a minor game,” he said. Over the years, it developed into a full-fledged game which requires strength in fingers, wrist, forearm and shoulder. So, he consults coaches for carrying out specific exercises for increasing muscle power.

His changeover from chess to arm wrestling was literally a brain to brawn story. It was in Class 6 that he started playing chess and won the district-level tournament in 2015 and was also first in PSEB state Under-14 tournament. For the next two years, he maintained his first place in the PSEB district championship in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, he bagged the third place in the nationals.

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