To commemorate the 85th birthday of Madhukar Tawalkar, the doyen of the Indian fitness industry, the inaugural State level Talwalkar Classique Invitational Bodybuilding Championship will be held at the Celebration Club, Andheri on Wednesday, November 28, 2018.
Madhukar Talwalkar( 85)
The State’s leading 15 bodybuilders and 6 Female Sports Physique competitors will flex their toned physiques for a piece of the total prize purse amounting to Rs 13 lakhs, the highest prize money in the country for a State Championship.
The winner will be awarded Rs 5 lakh as prize money while the 1st & 2nd Runner Up in the Men’s category will be awarded 2.5 & 1.5 Lakh each for their efforts.
The competition will be held under the aegis of Indian Body Builders Federation (IBBF) and the Maharashtra Bodybuilding Association.
The favourite for the title would be Mumbai’s Sunit Jadhav, who won a gold medal in the recently held Asian Bodybuilding Championship in Pune. He will face stiff challenge from Mahendra Pagde, Sagar Katurde & Nitin Mhatare. These Bodybuilders will also be vying for glory at the World Bodybuilding Championship in Thailand.
In the women’s category, Nishrin Parikh, Dr Manjiri Bhavsar and Aditi Bumb, among others, will be vying for top honours.
Winner of the Women’s category will be awarded a cash prize of ₹75,000.
This is the first time the Talkwalkar’s Classique will be held for players exclusively from Maharashtra. “The idea behind restricting this championship to Maharashtra players is to give the local bodybuilders a chance to prove themselves. The event will alternate between Maharashtra and All-India competition every year to give everyone an equal chance,” said Madhukar Tawalkar, Founder of the chain of Talwalkars Better Value Fitness Ltd centres spread all over India.
For over six decades, Mr. Talwalkar has been a mentor and has also provided financial support to many a top-notch bodybuilder in the country.