Arm-wrestling back in fashion in Singapore

At a HDB void deck in Tiong Bahru, a group of men were gathered around tables, hands covered in white chalk powder.

Arms at the ready, on the cue of "ready, go!", grunts filled the air as the tussle for supremacy began.

It was the third day of Chinese New Year and the group was giving curious passers-by and The Sunday Times a glimpse into the world of competitive arm-wrestling.

They call themselves "The Sweaty People" and they are one of at least 13 clubs who are a part of Singapore Armwrestling (SGAW). Once a week, the athletes gather at the void deck for training sessions, where they practise on professional arm-wrestling tables which include elbow pads and side pads.

The sessions can sometimes see up to 30 arm-wrestlers.

While the training venue is by no means fancy, Jasper Chan - who founded The Sweaty People and became SGAW president in 2023 - has high ambitions for the sport, which he says has grown rapidly in recent years.

SGAW was formed around 2011 by former chief Valen Low and had fewer than 20 members in its early days, said Chan.

Today, there are least 200 members and SGAW's athletes have competed overseas in countries like Malaysia, China and India.

Chan, 27, a Singapore Armed Forces regular, said: "The internet has allowed youth to be more exposed to arm-wrestling, and then they found it as a way to showcase their strength. The scene has exploded."

The arm-wrestling group are working to get recognised as a national sports association here. Government funding, Chan says, can help SGAW secure a better training venue and hold competitions at locations with higher footfall.

He said: "I hope to reach a point where we can send athletes and properly remunerate all the athletes to represent Singapore in the future.

"It is also important that more people can see that there are actual arm-wrestling matches and tournaments and this can be done only if we start having the money to host it in shopping malls."

On Jan 18, the SGAW organised the Singapore Armwrestling Open Brawl at Wan Min Community Services at MacPherson Road.

Close to 50 people were at the event, and one competitor came all the way from India - he had planned a family holiday to coincide with the competition.

The goal of arm-wrestling is to bring the opponent's hand down to the side pads as quickly as possible to get a win. Each match is officiated by two referees, one on each side so the officials can see the competitors and their grip from both sides.

One of the event referees, Melvyn Loh, explained that there are several misconceptions about the sport, with the main one being that it is illegal to use body weight for an advantage.

Loh, 31, said that each arm-wrestling table comes with hand grips for greater leverage.

"The common misconception is that you can only use your arm and not your entire body," said Loh, an English tutor. "Why do we use our entire body? Because the human arm is not designed to withstand all that force on the humerus alone.

"So being able to use your body helps to prevent you from sustaining a serious injury."

Chan added that another misconception was that big biceps and a strong arm are the only requirements to be good at the sport. But, hands and tendons are essential, too.

He said: "It depends on the technique they're using. If your technique is like, for example, a toproll, you might favour more strength using your wrist, forearms and hands.

"If you are a hook puller, you might favour using your biceps more.

"Some think that it's a sport (played in bars), but it's way more than that. There's a lot of technique and strategy involved, and not everything is just about brute strength and biceps."

Arm-wrestling is also not just for the back of classrooms either, even if that was how Raheel Mughal, 17, got started in it.

When he was in secondary school, he would challenge his classmates to arm-wrestling bouts, which he won consistently.

One day, his physical education teacher pointed out that what he was doing was an actual sport. Intrigued, Raheel began watching YouTube videos before contacting SGAW in 2023.

Raheel, an ITE College Central student who trains five times a week, now has grand ambitions for himself, as well as the sport.

And he plans to take the matter into his own hands.

He said: "When I started in 2023, it still felt like a niche sport. But even in these last two years, it has grown quite a bit and I know plenty of people who are into it now.

"I hope I can go on to represent Singapore in major events and I also wish it can become an Olympic sport, but for now I just want to keep spreading the word about arm-wrestling."