Jincy Jose fights adversities to scale heights in arm wrestling

KOCHI:

Jincy Jose

is a trailblazer in many ways. A six-time national champion in

arm wrestling

who has moulded many other champions along the way through coaching may yet be an unheralded name but her story should serve as an inspiration for many women who want to take up sports.


Hailing from Idukki in Kerala,

Jincy

took to arm wrestling by chance. "I took up arm wrestling just a few years back only. I was a grama panchayat member between 2010 and 2015 in Cheruthoni. There was an arm wrestling competition organized by our church during the Onam festival. It's called pancha gusthi in Malayalam and I happened to win that. From that moment, my husband persuaded me to take up the sport seriously and I started going to the district, state and national competitions," said Jincy.

Jincy's husband

Jose

is a karate trainer who pushed his wife and trained her to master arm wrestling. In 2014, Jincy won her first national arm wrestling championship gold. Jincy's success prompted many women in her village to turn to arm wrestling. "I started coaching women in my village. Even my daughter Anslet followed my footsteps and she has won a few national competitions in junior categories," said Jincy.

As a cruel twist of fate, Jose met with an accident in 2018 and his legs had to be amputated. But the family showed tremendous resolve to fight the adversity. "Initially, it was difficult to come to terms with the reality. But after that, my husband kept on encouraging me to continue with my training. The Kerala Arm Wrestling Association also backed us a lot," said Jincy, who has been to Malaysia representing India in an international event.

Recently, Jincy took part in the Pro Panja League and defeated famed arm wrestler Shruti Bawa. "It was a great experience to take part in the Pro Panja League. The competition was fierce and the event was organized in a very professional manner. Usually, to go to other competitions, we need to find sponsors. But in Pro Panja League, everything, including travel and accommodation, was taken care of by the organizers. The league is a big fillip to arm wrestling in India," added Jincy.