Asia 's largest international health, sports & fitness expo kicks off in Mumbai

It was fitness, health and sports at its very best here in Mumbai as IHFF (International Health, Sports and Fitness Festival) kicked off in Mumbai with a glittering inaugural event that saw the very best of international stars in fitness, body building and sports in attendance.

Sumit Gandhi, Chairman and CEO Of ABEC (Asian Business Exhibitions and Conferences), the principal force behind this event, extended a warm welcome to one and all and reflected upon the fast changing and growing fitness, health and sports industry. Among the sports stars was the one and only 7ft 2 inches tall Satnam Singh, the only Indian basketball player to have made it to the professional NBA league and now part of the highly reputed Texas Legends.

Danny Hester, a professional bodybuilder from California who bagged the Mr. Olympia Calssic 2016 title at the age of 47, waxed eloquent about his great first experience of India. Shannon Dey, CEO, Bombshell Fitness, was all praise for the growth of the fitness industry in India and the world at large and urged all fitness enthusiasts to pursue their dreams without any fear.

Manish Gandhi, COO, ABEC, proposed the vote of thanks and felicitated all the stars.

Also present at the inauguration were Roelly Winklaar - IFBB Pro, Dinesh Kapoor - President, Traders Association of Sporting Goods, Rajiv Wallia - CEO, Fitness Division, Jonathan Favre - CEO, Eric Favre Sport Games, Suhel Vats - CEO, Big Muscles Nutrition, Rajesh Rai - Managing Director, Jerai Fitness Pvt. Ltd, Adarsh Somani - Promoter, Big Flex Nutrition, Saurabh Srivastava - Sports Nutrition Division Director, Amazon, Danny Hester - Professional body builder, Arjan Bhullar - MMA Fighter and Kevin Mark Levrone, American IFBB professional bodybuilder.

The first edition of Olympia has been announced on Indian soil. A prestigious IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness) event, this is an amateur version of the famous Mr. Olympia Pro competition. It’s reported that this event will have participation from over 40 Asian countries.

For a global event like this to be held in India will prove to be a huge platform for the country's fitness enthusiasts, especially for people from smaller regions of the country, to showcase their talent. The event is said to host more than 400 contenders from all Asian countries who would be bidding to win the title of the Olympia Amateur.

The Amateur Olympia competition consists of the following categories: Men’s Bodybuilding, Men’s Physique, Men’s Classic Bodybuilding, Women's Bikini Fitness and Women's Physique. The Amateur Olympia will award 1 Pro card for each overall division and a total of 5 Pro cards.

0Collaborating with the Indian Body Building & Fitness Federation (IBBFF), the Olympia Amateur will take place on the 13th, 14th & 15th of October 2017.

The event will have significant highlights besides the Olympia amateur that include the Sheru Classic Male & Female Model Search, and a seminar zone where you can learn about the art of fitness that will help you with emotional stability and clarity of mind in your lifestyle besides fine tuning the temple that is your body.

Learn about the tricks of the trades and how it benefits your regime in the Guru Wars & Bros Vs Pros. Roll up your sleeves and try your hand at the India’s Strongest Arm: Arm-wrestling Competition. Go from Beast Mode to God mode with Shivfit – Battle of the Fittest (Cross fit).

Other highlights of the show will include Health and Nutrition, General Fitness, Business Connect, MMA, Guest Posing and the Super Gym.

The show is not just about amplifying exposure and connecting to the Indian audience in order to promote the benefits of fitness or promotion of a healthy lifestyle through sports or sculpting the perfect physique. The bigger vision is to provide a holistic approach to wellness which will consolidate fitness of the mind, body and soul.