It all started with playful arm wrestling at home against her dad, and one accidental coffee spill after his long day at work.

“My dad came home from work, very tiring, long day, and every day I used to arm wrestle with my dad,” recalled 14-year-old Iti Manchanda. “So I went to arm-wrestle with him and he was a little grumpy and tired and I spilled coffee on him.

“And my mom and dad, they both were like, ‘If you love arm wrestling this much, why don’t we find you an actual tournament and training, like a club you can train at and compete?’ And that’s how we found my first-ever tournament. So they were very supportive throughout the whole journey.”

Turning 15 in a month — a year and a half since she started in the sport and months removed from a world title in her age group — Manchanda,

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