It is common for boys to dare others for an arm wrestling bout. But, for 23-year-old Rita Priyanka A., daughter of a farmer, arm-wrestling is a natural extension of her passion for the sport in which she has already earned a name.
Ms. Rita, who won the State championship as well as national championship during Dasara sports 2014, has now added another feather to her cap. She won a gold medal in the women’s 70-kg category at the National Arm Wrestling Championship held at Thrissur in Kerala from May 7 to 9.
A resident of Palahalli, a village on the outskirts of Mysuru, Ms. Rita used to play Kabaddi when she was in school. But, her father, a wrestling enthusiast, encouraged her to take up wrestling. Weeks before the championship, Rita would wake up early, and accompanied by her elder brother on his bike, she would reach the gym of her arm-wrestling coach K. Vishwanath in Siddhartha Nagar, about 20 km from her home, for an hour-long training. “This sport requires a lot of technique, apart from strength,” Mr. Vishwanath said. Mr. Vikraman A.V., general secretary of the Kerala Arm Wrestling Association (Panja Kushti), said Ms. Rita is now eligible to represent India at the Asian arm wrestling championship in Dubai in August and the world championship in Italy later this year.
