Dara Singh was born in Punjab in a small village named Dharmuchak. Dara Singh Randhawa was born as Deedar Singh Randhawa on 19 November 1928, his body measurements were bigger than most Indian wrestlers at that time.
For most of Gen-Z kids they may know him as an actor, appearing in minor roles in films like ‘Kal ho na ho’ and ‘Jab we met’, but for a larger sums of people he is the famous wrestler, who made wrestling cool, before movies like ‘Sultan’ and ‘Dangal’, for most of us, he is and will always continue to be our ‘Hanuman’.
He was 6ft 2 inches tall with an astounding 53-inch chest. Due to his build, Dara Singh was encouraged to take up wrestling at a very young age. He began his wrestling by competing in small fights at fairs and markets. His wrestling style is Pehlwani, which is an ancient Indian technique.
Let’s have a look at his achievements as a famous wrestler:
•He had toured many countries to fight. In 1947, he was crowned the Champion of Malaysia when he defeated Tarlok Singh, when he went to Singapore.
•In 1954, at the tender age of 26, he became the National Wrestling Champion and for this he earned multiple laurels and honours from all corners of the country.
•In 1959, Dara Singh bagged the title as the Commonwealth Champion by defeating contenders such as King Kong and John Desilva.
•In 1968 Singh became the World Champion by defeating America's contender Lou Thesz.
•He was inducted to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame as a professional wrestler in 1996.
•He had received many titles like Rustam-E-Hind and Rustam-E-Punjab.
•He declared that he will be retiring from wrestling at a tournament held in Delhi in 1983 which was inaugurated by Rajiv Gandhi.
•Dara Singh served his role in the Rajya Sabha for 6 years, from 2003 to 2009 and was one of the first sportsmen to be nominated in the upper house.