Tariq Khan has played a significant role in promoting the sport of Armwrestling in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Tariq Khan, who is also an advocate by profession is the current General Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Armwrestling Association. He is also a national level referee.
He has a 25 years of experience in Armwrestling and he himself was a top Armwrestler in Madhya Pradesh, having won the Champion of Champions award in the State Championship in 2003.
The Sportsindiashow.com had the opportunity to chat with Tariq Khan about the growing popularity of Armwrestling in India and the pivotal role he is playing as the head of Madhya Pradesh Armwrestling Association.
1.) How long have you been associated with Armwrestling?
I have been associated with the sports since 1997. I took part in my first first Nationals and have been competing in the Nationals since then. In 2003, I was crowned as the Champion of Champions in the Madhya Pradesh State Armwrestling Championship. In 2008, I won a silver medal in the North India Arm Wrestling Championship. In 2009, I joined the Federation and since then I have been a part of it. I am also the current General Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Armwrestling Association. I have also been referring for a longtime now and I have refereed consistently in the Nationals for the last couple of years. Since Pro Panja League came into the Armwrestling scene, I have been refeering there aswell and the organisation has appreciated my refereeship very much be it in the first Delhi event, Mumbai event or the last ranking tournament that took place in Gwalior.
2.) What are the steps have you taken as the General Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Armwrestling Association to promote the sport in the state?
I personally run a training center in Bhopal. Every sunday, the Bhopal Armwrestling district body runs an Armwrestling camp that helps train the local armwrestlers ahead of the state and national championship. We also run camps once a week for athletes residing in Bhopal and adjoining districts for training.
3.) What improvements have you seen in Armwrestling since Pro Panja League’s arrival?
Ever since the arrival of the Pro Panja League, the growth of the sport has catapulted multiple fold. The sky is the limit now. I had not seen such a rapid growth in the popularity of Armwrestling in my life, but with Pro Panja League, the sport is growing in popularity even in the hinterlands. So, Pro Panja League definitely deserves a huge credit for it. Before, Pro Panja League, we had to define it to people what the sport of Armwrestling is, but now people recognize the sport. The Pro Panja League has organized such grand events in India that I had not seen in the history of the sports. Ever since Pro Panja League came into the existence, the response from the government has also been terrific.
4) What more should be done to promote the sport of Armwrestling in India?
The more facility we can provide to the Athletes in India, the more interest we will be seeing from them. The athletes should feel that their future is secured in Armwrestling. In other sports, when athletes win medals in nationals and international events, they are also offered jobs by the goverment and I think the same should happen in Armwrestling.
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