WWE pays tribute to Dara Singh


By Rajesh Ahuja

WWE yesterday paid tribute to the late Dara Singh hailing him as a true Icon.

Ahead of last night's WWE Superstar Spectacle, the WWE said,'The Icon. The Legend. WWE Hall of Famer and personification of strength & grace. A history-maker who has encouraged generations. Ahead of tonight’s #WWESuperstarSpectacle, we remember India’s own #DaraSingh.
SonySportsIndia.'


WWE pays tribute to India's wrestling legend Dara Singh 




A renowned world wrestler, Dara Singh began his wrestling training under Harnam Singh in the Great World Stadium in Singapore. As an adult he was 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighed 127 kilograms and had a chest measurement of 53 inches.

Due to his physique, he was encouraged to take up pehlwani, an Indian style of wrestling. After switching to professional wrestling, he competed around the world with opponents such as Bill Verna, Firpo Zbyszko, John Da Silva, Rikidōzan, Danny Lynch and Ski Hi Lee. His flooring of King Kong is still remembered.

In 1954 Dara competed in the Rustam-e-Hind (Champion of India) tournament where he won the final by defeating Tiger Joginder Singh and received a silver cup from Maharaja Hari Singh.

 In 1959, he won the Commonwealth Championship by defeating George Gordienko at Calcutta. On May 29, 1968 in Bombay, his victory over Lou Thesz earned him the World championship. He announced his retirement, at a tournament held in Delhi in June 1983.

Dara Singh lost just one match with Brahmdev Mishra of Gorakhpur in Dharmatala Maidan of Calcutta (present Kolkata) in 2.5 minutes.

Dara Singh was inducted into the Legacy Category of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2018.

Later, Dara Singh became a successful movie star. His role of Hanuman in the film Bajrangbali (1976) and in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan earned him popularity.

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