Rohtak Rowdies duo consider Pro Panja League "home" for strengthening "brother-sister" relationship

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) [India], August 9 (ANI): The Rohtak Rowdies franchise has been a pioneer in strengthening good arm wrestling lineups for the last two seasons of Pro Panja League. This season too, the brother sister duo Aakriti Kandari and Aryan Kandari have returned to participate in season 2 of the Pro Panja League for Rohtak Rowdies, taking place at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Training Centre for Disability Sports.

Co-founded by Parvinn Dabass and Preeti Jhangiani, the league has been at the forefront of strengthening and solidifying sibling relationships on the Pro Panja stage.

Speaking on being approached for his first 80 kg participation during the first season of the league and playing for Rohtak Rowdies along with his sister Aakriti, Aryan shared as quoted by Pro Panja League press release, "First of all, I got the message that there is a Pro Panja League season and someone has come to the Nationals. So, I got the contract signed, and then I met the teams, and then they asked me if your sister will also participate. So, I said yes, Aakriti is very strong, so she will participate.

Talking about the humble beginnings towards the Arm Wrestling Journey, Aryan Kandari the 80 kg participant of Rohtak Rowdies, recalls his early transition from Powerlifting to Arm Wrestling sport. Aryan shares, "There were a couple of boys in my academy who used to practice arm wrestling during recess, involving my participation as well as I got encouraged. Whenever any teacher didn't turn up, we used to escape and practice arm wrestling during that break. One day, I got this crazy thought as I used to do powerlifting before, to take part in a state arm wrestling competition where they were putting up arm wrestling tables on the side. I didn't even know that it was a sport. So, without practice, I almost defeated everyone. So, I thought I should do arm wrestling and participate well. So, I played in the state, then in the national team, then in the league.

Talking about finding her own strength through her brother's participation, Aryan's sister Aakriti Kandari shared, "I got a call from Aryan. He said, Akku, you will play. I mean, I have played with him. I used to help him with practice. I mean, I was doing it with him and used to lift such heavy weights. He also used to say that I am strong. So, then the Pro Panja team said that they wanted a girl to play. As they must have seen my videos. So, I got a call from Aryan asking me to join PPL (Pro Panja League). It was necessary for me to play in the national events as I too used to practice with Aryan. It took me a month to practice. Then I joined Pro Panja League event.

Supporting her sister's statement, Aryan responded, "After the Pro Panja League, my sister has participated for State, National and Asian events. I mean, people play State National Asian first. My sister played State National Asian after."

Talking about seeing the growth of sports evolve in Srinagar, Uttarakhand, where the duo athlete hail from, Aryan Khandari, the 80 kg participant, shared, "When I used to play, only 10-15 people used to come. But when I started uploading on social media, 100, 200, 300, now 1000 people are playing in my state. And whenever I visit home, everyone says that I started because of you. So, it feels good to see platforms like Pro Panja helping sports like Arm wrestling thrive.

Talking about coming from a strong, supportive family background, both Aryan and Aakriti share, "Our parents are not athletes, but they have a strong background. My grandfather was also a police officer and an athlete. That's why they can do gymnastics. My mother also used to do marathons. Our father used to prepare for the police. So, the whole family background is that everyone was in this."

Talking about spending two seasons in the franchise with Rohtak Rowdies, both Aryan and Aakriti shared, "The environment with Rohtak Rowdies is very good. If anything is lacking, Abhishek Malik, Owner of Rohtak Rowdies, steps in to help that same day itself. The franchise Rohtak Rowdies provides good support so that there is no lack in energy or confidence during match days. There were days when we didn't have each other during participation for state or national arm wrestling events, but through Rohtak Rowdies, we got a platform to do it together and stronger." (ANI)

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