Aabhas Rana stuns Matt Connelly, Ryan Bowen edges out Mazahir Saidu in thrilling Armwrestling series

Published at :November 15, 2023 at 12:54 PM

Modified at :January 14, 2024 at 1:06 AM

India and Australia share the honours in the super matches held in Assandh.

The eagerly anticipated Armwrestling Championship bout between two superstars from India and Australia took place in Assandh, Haryana. The thrilling match ended in an entertaining 1-1 draw.

In the heavyweight division, Australia’s Matt ‘Hollywood’ Connelly faced India’s Aabhas Rana. Matt Connelly is a well-known name in the professional Armwrestling circuit, having competed in numerous international matches worldwide.

On the other hand, Aabhas Rana, a 15-year-old rising Armwrestler from India, was recently crowned as the World Champion in both the Left- and Right-hand categories at the WAF World Championships held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in the Sub-Junior category.

Heading into the super match, the Australian was the favorite due to his years of experience as a professional armwrestler. However, what followed was one of the most dominant performances by an Indian Armwrestler against an international competitor. Aabhas Rana defeated Matt Connelly 4-0 in the super match, scheduled for seven rounds.

The second super match featured Australia’s Ryan Bowen and India’s Mazahir Saidu. Ryan Bowen is one of the most popular Armwrestlers globally and a social media celebrity in the Armwrestling circuit. In a thrilling bout, Bowen overcame Mazahir Saidu 4-3.

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Mazahir Saidu took an early advantage in the fight, easily pinning Bowen in a strap battle. However, in the second round, it didn’t take long for Bowen to pin Saidu to equalize. In the third round, Mazahir recovered and pinned Bowen with his impeccable side pressure to take a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth, Bowen was nearly pinned by Mazahir’s extremely intense side pressure, but he recovered to pin down Mazahir using his strong wrist power. Heading into the fifth round, the score was 2-2.

In the fifth round, Mazahir easily pinned Bowen to extend his lead to 3-2. In the sixth round, both Armwrestlers were tested for their stamina and mental strength. Mazahir’s powerful side pressure put Bowen in a lock, but he managed to hold on until Mazahir gave away his advantage due to an incorrect stance, after which Bowen pinned him down.

In the final round, Mazahir managed to pin Bowen with relative ease. However, the referee called for an elbow foul on Mazahir, and the bout had to be restarted. While the referee was praised for the unbiased call, both Bowen and Mazahir had decided that minor fouls would not be called out by the referees, and the match would be allowed to continue.

If this had been honored by the referees, Mazahir would have been crowned the Champion. As the round restarted, Mazahir started strong but lost his shoulder positioning, which helped Bowen to bounce back and pin Mazahir with a shoulder press to win the bout.

The series between Australia and India ended in a 1-1 draw.