At 63, skipping champ defies age limits

At an age when many consider slowing down, 63-year-old Ranjit Pal Pabla is defying expectations and breaking barriers — not just in bodybuilding but in the high-speed world of rope skipping. A resident of Phagwara and the owner of a local gym, Ranjit has not only built a formidable physique over decades of disciplined training but has also carved his name into record books by achieving feats few would believe possible.

Ranjit’s journey began in 1975 when, as a seventh-grade student, he stepped into Maddi Da Akhara, a traditional wrestling school, to begin training in the sport. His love for physical fitness was born there, but destiny soon led him down a different path. In 1981, while pursuing a diploma at an Industrial Training Institute, he joined Guru Nanak Club in Phagwara, where he encountered international powerlifter Gobind Dhiman. That meeting shifted his focus from wrestling to bodybuilding — a decision that would define his athletic career.

Under the mentorship of World Champion and Padma Shri awardee Prem Chand Degra, Ranjit began rigorous bodybuilding training. Just a year later, in 1982, he won the Junior Mr Punjab title at a competition in Phillaur. His trajectory continued upward with victory at an inter-college championship in 1986, and he eventually claimed the Senior Mr Punjab title in 1988 in Jalandhar. That same year, he finished as a runner-up at the Mr India Championship in Puducherry, securing his reputation as one of Punjab’s top bodybuilders.

However, Ranjit’s most surprising and globally recognised achievements would come not in bodybuilding, but in the realm of rope skipping, a discipline typically dominated by younger athletes and rarely associated with muscular physiques. In 2002, while judging a skipping competition at a college in Jalandhar, Ranjit observed the participants skipping at 130-170 times per minute. Internally unimpressed, he returned home and decided to try it himself. On his very first attempt, he recorded 250 skips in a single minute.

What began as a spontaneous trial quickly became a personal challenge. Within months, he was clocking 350 skips per minute. In 2005, he set a national record by skipping 136 times in just 15 seconds — an achievement that earned him an entry into the Limca Book of Records. Skipping with such speed that the rope becomes invisible to the eye and only a whistling sound is heard, Ranjit’s sprint-style skipping technique is unlike anything seen in the sport.

His accolades didn’t stop there. Ranjit won the Indian Rope Skipping Championship, scoring 225 skips in 30 seconds and earning the title of Fastest Skipper in India. In 2006, he represented the country at the Asian Rope Skipping Championship in Malaysia, where he won a bronze medal — a rare feat for someone who only began skipping in his forties.

Determined to take his skills to the global stage, Ranjit entered the Impossibility Challenger in Dachau, Germany, in 2008, where he skipped 255 times in one minute — a new world record at the time. He broke this record again in December 2009 at the Mood Indigo Challenger in Mumbai with 262 skips. Returning to Germany, he set his personal best by completing an astonishing 276 skips in a single minute, surpassing even the Guinness World Record.

Despite his global accomplishments, Ranjit remains deeply rooted in his hometown of Phagwara. He runs a gym where he mentors young athletes, shares his philosophy of fitness and promotes rope skipping as a serious sport for people of all ages. “When I started, I never imagined I would reach this level,” he says. “It’s not about talent alone — it’s about consistency, belief and pushing your own boundaries.”

Age, for Ranjit, has never been a constraint. “At 63, I feel just as motivated as I did in my youth,” he says. “Fitness has no age limit. Whether you’re 16 or 60, it’s about mindset and dedication.”

His journey has not been without its challenges. During some of his earlier record attempts, officials struggled to accurately count his skips due to the incredible speed. Yet, undeterred by such hurdles, Ranjit continued to perfect his technique, often recording his performances and submitting video evidence to national and international record authorities.

Today, Ranjit Pal stands as a multi-discipline athlete whose story resonates far beyond medals and records. He is an icon of resilience and a source of inspiration for generations.

As he prepares for future record attempts and continues to inspire budding athletes in Phagwara and beyond, one thing remains clear — Ranjit Pal is not finished yet. In fact, he’s only getting started.