Dara Singh
| Dara Singh | |
|---|---|
Singh at Pran's birthday party in February 2010.
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| Native name | ਦਾਰਾ ਸਿੰਘ ਰੰਧਾਵਾ |
| Born |
Dara Singh Randhawa 19 November 1928 Amritsar, Punjab Province, British India |
| Died | 12 July 2012 (aged 83) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Nationality |
 Indian
|
| Other names | "Rustam-e-Hind" "Ironman of Indian Cinema" "The Original Muscle Man of Bollywood" |
| Occupation | Professional wrestler, Actor, Politician |
| Years active | 1947–1983 (wrestler) 1950–2012 (actor) 2003-2009 (politician) |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Spouse(s) |
Bachno Kaur (m. 1937–50) Surjit Kaur (m. 1961) |
| Children | 6 including; Parduman Randhawa (actor) Vindu Dara Singh Amrik Singh Randhawa (producer) |
| Relatives | See Randhawa family |
| Website | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dara Singh |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Billed weight | 127 kg (280 lb) |
| Billed from | Punjab, India |
| Trained by | Harnam Singh |
| Debut | 1948 |
| Retired | 1983 |
Dara Singh (19 November 1928 – 12 July 2012) was an Indian professional wrestler, actor and politician. He started acting in 1952 and was the first sportsman to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha (upper house) of India. He worked as Hindi and Punjabi film producer, director and writer, and he acted in films and television.
Dara Singh was born on 19 November 1928 in the village of Dharmuchak, which was then a part of British Punjab and is now in Amritsar district of the Majha region of Panjab. He went Singapore in 1947 where he worked in a drum manufacturing mill and started his wrestling training under Harnam Singh in the Great World Stadium.
As an adult he was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall, weighed 127 kilograms (280 lb) and had a chest measurement of 53 inches (130 cm). 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 etc., his act of flooring King Kong is always remembered.
In 1954 Dara competed in Rustam-e-Hind (Champion of India) tournament where he won the final by defeating Tiger Joginder Singh and got a silver's cup from Maharaja Hari Singh. In 1959, he won the Commonwealth Championship by defeating George Gordienko at Calcutta. On 29 May 1968 in Bombay, his victory over Lou Thesz earned him the World Wrestling Championship. His last tournament, where he announced his retirement, was held in Delhi in June 1983. In 1996 he was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
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