KUCHING: Over 10 million adoring fans from the western hemisphere will learn the whereabouts of Kuching tonight when the Vandetta Top 8 Arm Wrestling Championsips begins.
The championship which will be telecast live via the internet and social media platforms is indeed fast growing in terms of followers and the new format this year has made the tournament very competitive and exciting to watch.
In the Top 8, four contenders (in yellow) and four champions (in red) will face off in six rounds of intense arm wrestling with three minutes in each round, just like a boxing match but more personal and up close where athletes face each other with locked arms pulling for the win.
The president of Professional Armwrestling League, Igor Marzurenko thanked the State and the Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Ministry for the unwavering support to help bring the event here and assured the State that “the keen following of fans in Europe and America are already with us here in Kuching via social media”.
“This sport is growing alongside social media and the digital world and like other sports that have come up through this kind of genesis, the emphasis is entertainment and attainability,” said Marzurenko.
To a question Marzureenko said: “Of course in the amateur side of things the ultimate is to reach the Olympics but this is now a professional sport so athletes can get at the highest levels of competition now without waiting for bureaucrats to decide if it is fit for the Olympics.”
Apart from the Vandetta Top 8, the event here will see the growth and development of a local event which is the Premier 101 International Charity Armwrestling Championship which has seen the participation of 30 countries and over 300 entries.
A total of US$175,000 is up for grabs in the 12-category competition — including weight, male and female.
Winners and achievers in the event will be given points and a place in the world ranking order which allows the athlete to challenge wrestlers with higher ranking to climb the ladder.
Sarawak will also gain a lot from both the world events taking place here as well as the referees seminar where around 30 locals have signed up to become a Level 1 referee, opening the path towards becoming a professional referee in the sport.
With locals qualified as referees, more recognised and sanctioned tournaments can be held locally to prepare and hone the skills necessary to compete in a tougher challenge such as the Top 8 or the World Cup of Armwrestling.
The president of the Malaysian Armwrestling Federation Malaysia, Zil Fadil said the sport is growing faster that people realise, pointing out that the superstar athletes were greeted like Hollywood celebrities yesterday while visiting a local school.
“If they are not known, there wouldn’t have been such euphoria and sincere jubilation from the children. In fact, judging by their sizes it would probably have been very quiet and intimidating for them. Instead, we are pleasantly surprised that they even know the names of our Top 8 athletes,” said Fadil
Also present at yesterday’s press conference were international referees, former champions for the men and women’s categories as well as the Top 8 athletes competing in tonight’s championship .
The event will start at 8pm at Pullman Hotel, here, and entrance is free of charge.
