India Wraps Up First Home Armwrestling World Championship with 59 Medals

New Delhi: India finished its first-ever home-hosted Armwrestling World Championship with an impressive haul of 59 medals at the 47th World Armwrestling and 28th World Para Armwrestling Championship 2026, which concluded in New Delhi on Friday.

The championship, held in India for the first time, brought together more than 1,700 athletes, officials and supporters from over 60 countries.

Russia emerged as the overall champion, followed by Kazakhstan in second place and Turkey in third. Six athletes secured senior gold medals in both arms: Melek Celik and Esra Kiraz of Turkey, Ulbossyn Elmurat and Yerdualet Nurmakhan of Kazakhstan, and Irina Driaeva and Tengizi Natsvlishvili of Georgia.

India's 59-medal tally comprised nine gold, 19 silver and 31 bronze medals. Para athletes made a significant contribution, winning 26 medals, including two gold, 10 silver and 14 bronze, helping India secure fifth place in the para medal standings.

Sub-junior, junior and youth competitors added 20 medals (three gold, eight silver and nine bronze), while masters and grand masters secured 12 medals (four gold, one silver and seven bronze). India also won one bronze medal in the senior category.

Jincymol Sebastian claimed gold in both arms in the Grand Master Women's 80kg category. Yogesh Choudhary and Shoukath VT each won a right-arm gold and a left-arm bronze. In the senior finals, Madhura K N secured bronze in the Women's 70kg right-arm category.

The closing ceremony was held on Friday at The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel in East Delhi. It was attended by Costa Rican Ambassador Néstor Gabriel Baltodano Vargas, Romanian Ambassador Sena Latif and Georgian Ambassador Vakhtang Jaoshvili.

The championship, which ran from October 29 to November 6, was organised by the People's Armwrestling Federation of India (PAFI) under the aegis of the World Armwrestling Federation (WAF).

Charles Osei Asibey, President of the Armwrestling Federation of Africa (AFA) and Vice President of the WAF, praised India's hosting arrangements, saying the organisation, hospitality and enthusiasm of the spectators had set a new benchmark for the sport.

PAFI President, AAF Vice President and Pro Panja League co-founder Preeti Jhangiani said the event had brought the international armwrestling community together and credited Indian athletes, coaches and officials for making the championship a success on home soil.

Pro Panja League co-founder Parvinn Dabass said Indian athletes had demonstrated their capabilities on the global stage in front of a home crowd. He described hosting the World Championship as a long-held dream for Indian armwrestling and said the event would serve as a benchmark for future development.

The World Armwrestling Championship will move to Canada next year. Meanwhile, India will host the Pro Panja League Poonawalla Gold Edition II in Pune on November 28, 2026. The competition will feature World Championship medallists Yogesh Choudhary, Harkomal Singh Gill and Aabhas Rana.

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