Indian Arm Wrestler Beats 'World's Strongest Bodybuilder'

An Indian arm wrestler has defeated the 'world's strongest bodybuilder' in a contest.

Rahul Panicker is the current 70kgs Indian National Arm Wrestling Champion, and went bicep to bicep with Larry Wheels at a gym in Dubai.

Now, on the face of it, you would imagine Wheels, who stands at six-feet one inch and weighs around 115kg (18st), would make light work of someone a less than half his size.

However, it wasn't the case, and Panicker, who has won six national titles in the last 10 years, stormed to victory in a what was a titanic clash.

In footage shared online, a large crowd of people gathered to watch the pair go at it.

And at first, it appears that old Wheels has the edge of Panicker, taking the first round fairly convincingly.

He then carries on his good form and takes the second, again pretty swiftly.

At this point, things really don't look too good for Panicker, but he keeps his cool, and despite the odd false start from both of them, with Wheels admitting that his 'fingers were tired', manages to take the third round to avoid defeat and a total whitewash. Which, let's face it, would have been very embarrassing for a national champion.

Rahul Panicker

The 31-year-old pulls it back to 2-2, with he and Wheels going into a decisive final round.

And with glory on the line, the pair of gladiators give it their all while the crowd can be heard cheering for Larry to take finish the job.

But despite the strongman's valiant efforts, he just doesn't have enough to defeat Panicker, whose persistence pays off as he is able to hold on and claim victory.

Speaking to Times of India about his sporting prowess, Panicker, who is a software engineer by trade, said competition is in the blood.

His father was a powerlifter and had won the title of Powerman of India, while one of his uncles was a weightlifting champion who had worked as a coach for the national team, and his other uncle is the secretary of Kerala State Body Building Association

Panicker told the publication: "In my family, my father and his four elder brothers are all into fitness.

"So I have always gravitated towards sports."

At least this contest ended in much better circumstances than a recent match between a father and son.

So upset at being beaten by his boy, the disgruntled dad reportedly grabbed his gun and fired off a couple of shots, before the police were inevitably called to the house, causing a long standoff.

Topics: World News, Dubai, US News, Fitness, India

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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