Bhopal, Feb 21 (IANS) Sangram Singh of Pune bagged the ‘Mr. India’ title at the Bodybuilding Championship 2011 here.
A total of 250 bodybuilders participated in the qualifying rounds held across the country, and of them 70 were selected for the final round in different categories.
The championship was held at the Tatia Tope Stadium here late Sunday.
Television actor Aman Verma anchored the programme and also felicitated one of the tallest men of India Dharam Prakash. The 28-year-old Prakash, standing at 7 feet 6 inches, is three inches taller than wrestler Khali.
But it was the physically challenged group that received the loudest applause from the audience.
Nazar Dawood (Maharastra) and Abdul Bukhari (Kerala) were crowned champions respectively in the above-60 kg and below-60 kg categories. Bukhari also won the bronze medal in last year’s World Handicap Bodybuilding Championship.
Most of the participants in the physically handicapped group suffered polio, but the audience gave a standing ovation for their well-developed torsos.
A contestant was even leaning on a stick, while another fell while posing, but it did not dampen their enthusiasm.
‘I enjoyed the championship and got the fruits of my hard work’, said Rahul, who came fifth in the below-50 kg category in the physically challenged group.
