Mumbai: In the bustling landscape of Indian sports, one league is making waves and capturing the attention of enthusiasts nationwide: the Pro Panja League. Founded by actors Parvin Dabas and Preeti Jhangiani, this innovative sporting endeavor is set to reshape the landscape of arm-wrestling with its forthcoming season, promising exciting changes ahead.

In its inaugural season, the Pro Panja League left an incredible mark on the Indian sports landscape:

●   Boasting ratings that outshone similar leagues, Pro Panja League showcased its prowess in captivating audiences nationwide.

●   With a remarkable fivefold increase in Facebook viewership and top-notch engagement rates on both Facebook and YouTube, the league proved its digital dominance.

Indiantelevision.com had the pleasure of engaging with Dabas and Jhangiani, where they shed light on pivotal aspects including their plans, enhancements, and preparations for the upcoming season of the Pro Panja League. Additionally, they delved into the league's social media outreach and traction numbers, as well as offered insights into the promising future of arm-wrestling in India.

Edited excerpts

On improvements planned for the upcoming season of Pro Panja League to build upon the success of the inaugural season

Jhangiani: The inaugural season of the Pro Panja League validated the vision for the sport and how we feel the audience would like to consume the sport. Arm wrestling in itself is a very thrilling and exciting game to watch. It's very edge of the seat and although I will let Parvin answer this question because he's the creative force behind the league and mostly all the creative decisions on how for the league are taken by him. But from what we have planned for now, I can certainly say that it's going to be a lot of drama, I mean don't blame us if we break a table or two. The athletes are supercharged, they've come back double trained this time because they've seen that anything halfway is not going to work. And they really supercharged her for Season 2. So, there's going to be a lot of passion and a lot of fireworks. Of course, we planned on everything in a bigger and larger format this year.

Dabas: Well, they say ‘Don’t fix it if it’s not broken’ so, since the inaugural season has really worked well and resonated with the masses so we don’t want to do too many changes and there are things which we continue with but maybe a few tweaks here and there. One of the major things that is going to change this year will be the challenge round is going to be even lesser than the inaugural season. Right now, it is 10 seconds but it is going to move down to 7 seconds. It is going to be even more exciting whether after somebody calls out and challenges the other players, the player whether he is able to put down his hand in 7 seconds and earn the 5 points or is he going to lose the points to his opponent. Apart from that we are also limiting the number of times each player can play, this is for two reasons - to give them more chances and also to let them recover. Apart from that, we would be doing more stuff with the background graphics and certain other stuff also, which we are planning, which we don't want to talk about right now. And we want you to see. But one big thing always I think with Pro Panja League is what people look forward to are the promo videos. The promo videos really worked in the first season. I think this season I think the promos are going to surprise people. They're really going to sit up and take notice. We all have very creatively thought of the other promos that we just can't wait to shoot them on the sets. So a lot of stuff is planned for season two. I think then the biggest improvement is going to be the athletes themselves. I think they're going to be much more settled and I think they did a fantastic job in the first season. They really brought that excitement and I think this season some of the athletes are going to be even more hungry to perform on the table and I think that’s the beauty of Pro Panja League that nobody wants to lose but only one can win. Athletes are our biggest assets and I am sure that they are going to bring even bigger and better action this season.

On comparing the viewership data from last year's Pro Panja League with other non-cricket private leagues in India

Dabas: I do understand that people will always compare and of course that's our job as well to see how well we did as compared to the other leagues but I don’t want to infer too much with the viewership data, because we just want to focus on ourselves and ensuring that we are doing the best we can rather than in relation with somebody else. But it is very heartening to see the viewership numbers that we’ve got in the inaugural season in the non-cricket segment. We are third in position to of course Pro Kabaddi and ISL. With all due respect to both of the other leagues which are a little longer in terms of match days as compared to us. Our league is there for only 17 days. That’s a really great comparison to have and to know that we have done so well in the first season as far as the viewership data is concerned. We've got a long way to go. This was the viewership despite the fact that out of the 17 days, 10 days there was an India vs West Indies series going on which affected some of our numbers otherwise we were tracking to do even higher. It's just those days on which the India-West Indies series went down a bit and this series was announced a little late after we had already announced our dates. And now the insights that can be drawn from these comparisons, I would leave it to the experts. Since, I'm a big fan of sport and I really respect each and every league. I think everybody works very hard. So, I don't want to speak well about myself at the cost of anybody else or all. All I want to say is that we've done well and I know other people do compare and because of that we have to make sure that we are doing the best possible and it's always good when you know you're doing very well in the first year. All I can say is our numbers - this is just the beginning. You're going to see a huge leap in the next 2-3 years. There were 32,000,000 unique viewers this year and the reason we talk about unique viewers and not the reach is because reach is subjective, which can be derived in different manners. Unique viewers are very precise data points. So, if this year we had 32 Million, the next season we're aiming for between 50 to 60 Million and in the third season we're aiming for 100 Million. Also, we know exactly where we're going to get those numbers from. So, we're not just throwing them out of the top of our head. We're not just pulling them out of my hat. We actually know where we are going to get those numbers, where our growth is going to be. Our own insights are telling us that this is where the growth is going to be coming from. So that is what we are concentrating on.

Jhangiani: I would probably like to answer this question, in the words of Sony Sports. The viewership data has been compared to domestic cricket by Sony Sports. We are extremely thrilled with the views that we've got 32,000,000 unique viewers is no mean feat in our inaugural season. In fact, like everybody else presumed that we would get a lot of audience from Tier 2 & 3 cities which we did. But what was really amazing and exciting was that we got a lot of traction, in fact the maximum traction from metro cities like Mumbai and Delhi. And we all know that Bombay is a very tough market to crack because here we don't have time for anything. It was really exciting that we managed to capture the metro cities along with the Tier 2 & 3 cities in the inaugural season. As compared to other leagues, I wouldn't like to put down any other sport as the growing of sport helps the entire ecosystem for sport and as leagues are coming up, it's great that the audience is showing more interest in non-cricket sport as well, but I would definitely like to say that though we've performed exceedingly well more than what anyone else expected and the views speak for themselves.

Jhangiani: We’ve worked very hard on the athletes or training them on how to present themselves on screen and on various other things, how to present the sport, how to make sure that the rules are understood, which are very simple since our sport arm-wrestling is a very easy sport to understand. It has an Indian ethos and it's truly ‘Bharat Ka Khel’. So, we had all of these points in our favor and we could certainly show everyone that this is a sport that the entire Bharat wants to watch and we were able to present in an entertaining way because at the end of the day you have to combine sport and entertainment. I think that this is something that is apart from the other leagues also and this is why our viewership was so much more than all the other non-cricket leagues, of course not barring Pro Kabaddi League for sure. But then a lot of the other non-cricket leagues, the reason being that we managed to present the sport in an entertaining, and exciting manner.

On considering the significant social media traction during the inaugural season and other specific initiatives to further enhance the league's presence on platforms like Facebook and YouTube

Parvin Dabas: First of all, thank you for noticing the social media traction. It was really good and I would like to say that the specific initiatives behind it is only hard work. We're constantly on social media and trying different things, putting the content out and always getting the athletes to speak on the videos, all kinds of things where we're constantly adding. With social media, you’ve to try to see what's working and what's not. It's not always data points, it's just connecting with your audience. So, what we're really trying to do is connect with the audience and I think that's what people really like. You know it's not fancy templates or anything else. The best thing is the sport itself has connected with the audience in the way we put it out. So, from there on we constantly look out what we are doing, what we are putting out, or how we can do better, what more stuff we can put out, how we can put it out. So, we always try to be on top of our social media. We are also building a mini studio now to do interviews and podcasts. So, the quality is always maintained and constantly reviewing and putting stuff on it. Since July 2022 we've crossed half a billion views on April 4th and we have hit 530 million. I would say, we're never satisfied, but I think it's a decent number and another thing that we are constantly doing is we regularly have other satellite events which churns out new content throughout the year and not just during the league time. That's a big plus point as well and that is what the specific initiative is which leads us to better numbers on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and everything. Having fresh content constantly really helps us.

Jhangiani: I am very proud of what we are doing with Pro Panja League on Social Media especially. Our views have gone through the roof. We regularly get a million or more views on our reels or on our Facebook. It's one of the best performing non-cricket social media so far and I can see that very confidently. Look at the traction, it's not just during the league time but it's throughout the year, which is something that we have worked on very hard. We continue to do smaller tournaments or to promote the sport in the league and this is what keeps our social media also going. It's amazing what we have achieved and continue to achieve in social media and I think this is one of our strongest points and I can safely and confidently say that we are far ahead of all the other leagues in our social media outreach.

On upcoming plans for the development of arm-wrestling in India

Jhangiani: Since we started in 2020, we have been continuing to do arm-wrestling events throughout the country. What we have been continuing with this sport is what we've consumed ourselves entirely in promoting the sport. We have put the sport against iconic backdrops such as the Gwalior Fort. We had our second ranking tournament Infront of the fort and it was spectacular. We had a super match just like a UFC style Fight Night at the Gateway of India. We have set our tables at the bank of the Chambal river. We have set our tables in a boat, in the middle of the Bhopal lake. Through all of these events, we continue to take part in a lot of the larger sporting exhibitions such as the IIHF in Bombay and Delhi or the FIT Expo in Kolkata, in which we've been regularly representing arm-wrestling. All of these have been great successes. Recently we’ve been a part of this huge event at the Gateway of India, as a part of the Narvekar Sports Festival as well. So, we are continuing to do events throughout the year, not just setting up the table against iconic locations, but also being a part of one of the biggest sports or fitness expos all over the country, even with the federation, we are working together and doing a lot of things for arm wrestling. Wherever we go, wherever we do events, we leave tables there and we put an athlete or somebody who knows the sport and put in charge of that table and that's how the community around that table grows, because when you puts a table somewhere that table is there and everybody wants to try and they all feel that they know they all they can win. Another thing that worked in our favor was that the sport has a very low level of financial entry point. You don't need to have the expensive gears to perform. All you need is that arm-wrestling table which nowadays almost every gym has one. In fact, arm-wrestling academies are sprouting up all over the world, Gwalior became the first city to have an arm-wrestling academy to train athletes but now there are many such academies all around India. So, we have taken a lot of initiatives to promote the sport of arm-wrestling in India.

Jhangiani: You know the eyes of the international world are on India today. Every athlete has seen what is happening with arm-wrestling. The boom arm-wrestling has taken in India is something exciting. Every big international athlete in the world of arm-wrestling wants to come down and has expressed interest in being part of the league or any such event happening in India. Such is the leading nature of India in the sport and I feel very proud of what we have achieved and we continue to achieve. It has raised the whole community of our arm-wrestlers. This was a community that was quite active on the amateur scene for a long time but nobody even knew that this was being done professionally till we took it up. The boom it has seen from the first ranking tournament to the second ranking tournament at Gwalior where our social media took off and then of course the sport appearing on Sony Sports. We have to give it to Sony Sports as well for their faith in us in and in the sport. The kind of views and the promos that they gave us were much more than what they were contractually obligated to do, which shows their support and their belief in the sport. From the first day onwards we had a win in our hands and this is something that’s very exciting.

Dabas: All the plans of the arm-wrestling in India is of course on the league and growing it at grassroot level. So, it's both the top down and the bottom up approach where we are building into. We've given something for the athletes to aspire to, which is the Pro Panja League as a platform. There's a huge craze of arm-wrestling everywhere right now, and the pinnacle for them is Pro Panja League. But apart from that we do a lot of events ourselves, smaller events of course across the country and throughout the year. We also partner with other people to do events across the country again in smaller places. Also, we're empowering also, we donate a lot of arm-wrestling tables, so we're glad to consistently have these events throughout the year to grow the sport. We also donate tables in various places where we have events, we leave those tables behind so that it creates pockets of arm wrestling everywhere. We have empowered all of our athletes to start training other athletes all over the country. They’re training athletes online and even in their native places, they're making money for it as well. They're very young, but they're also teaching the new generation. There are many layers of how we are planning on the development of the sport like doing various events or coaching. There are a lot of other plans to introduce various coaching methods. If you see, in our league there are a lot of foreign coaches and they're empowering our coaches in India to for better training methods as well. It's a 360-degree approach that we've taken to arm-wrestling and there's a huge boom in arm-wrestling in the country. We constantly evaluate and re-evaluate what we're doing to see where we need to do better and where we need to stretch out. There's a lot of state championships happening right now, there's always something happening for the athletes.

We are also trying to reach out to more states where we may not have such a strong presence right now. Like we want to become more active in Kashmir. A lot of athletes from there have been reaching out to us for tournaments. We’re planning to do something there and other places as well. So, you keep possibly hearing about what we're doing throughout the year and it feels good to be able to uplift a whole sport in the community of athletes belonging to that sport. The great thing is we consider each and every athlete a partner in the development of arm-wrestling and we try to empower them also to keep teaching the game along with all of us around the country.