The Great Khali, who had emerged as the champion at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) IN 2007, has today announced the launch of his Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE).
The new venture was formally launched by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat who invited the tall Khali to kick-start the first event of CWE on February 2016 with a two-day spectacle of international standard fights to be held in Uttarakhand.
The Chief Minister said that Uttarakhand was slated to host the National Games in 2018 and the event in February would also be used to encourage more people from the state to come forward for sports. He said two stadiums were being built for the purpose in Haldwani and Dehradun. Rawat added that he was sending six or seven wrestlers to Punjab to train under the tutelage of Khali at his academy in Jalandhar.
The CWE would initially train around forty wrestlers, Khali whose real name is Dalip Singh Rana and who stands 7 feet 3 inches tall. check this sentence
In fact, Rawat had to stand on a stool to put a shawl around Khali while welcoming him, providing a great photographic moment.
Rawat said “I have always said that the youth is not just our future but also our present and in a young country and state like ours their development and betterment is of prime importance to any ruling dispensation. I was really impressed by what Khali is attempting to do with this very popular modern day version of one of our most traditional sports - Wrestling.” He said the aim of his youth outreach initiative, #CM4Youth, was to understand the aspirations of the young and draw up programmes to fulfill these.
“Pro-wrestling is very popular with the Uttarakhandi youth. Khali’s own story of his rise from being a very ordinary worker in the hills to being amongst the world’s greatest pro-wrestlers ever through single minded focus, hard work and absolute dedication is nothing short of inspirational", he added.
Others present included Ranjit Rawat and Haripal Rawat, both conveners of #CM4Youth, IBS CEO Amardeep Singh., and leading sporting luminary Jaspal Rana. The CWE programme will focus on aggressively promoting the sport in India as well as scouting and developing pro-wrestling talent from across the country.
Khali said that talks were on with different television channels who want to cover his events, but declined to give further details.
Commenting on the reason behind this initiative, Khali said: “I have come a long way since my humble beginning as an ordinary stone cutter in the hills. A simple response to a chance question by a Punjab police inspector who passed me one day while I was working along a road, changed my life for ever. He asked me why was I working so hard even after my shift was completed. My response that unlike others I had a bigger stomach to fill and thus needed to work harder than the rest landed me a job in Punjab police. For the first time in my life, when I got my second salary there, I could actually buy a TV; a decision that changed my life forever – I not just got introduced to wrestling through seeing WWE but decided to make it my passion and profession."
“My journey was not at all simple to say the least. Having gone through all the trials and tribulations of setting out on a journey to conquer the world of pro-wrestling with only my ambition in hand and then being able to rise to the zenith at the world platform, I was determined even while in the United States that I would return to my country and help create the right platform and facilities for my fellow Indians to also make it big in this sport." Added the wrestler.
He further went on to say that the Uttarakhand CM had agreed to help his endeavour without any pre-conditions as it was a very good initiative for the youth.
The fights which are scheduled for February 2016 will feature both international as well as Indian pro-wrestlers including The Great Khali himself.
Asked why he was not participating in the WWE Live event in India, he indicated that he had not been invited but would love to wrestle with Americans on Indian soil. He said that he had gone through a lot of difficulty when he landed there in 2006 and used to sleep in the ring after the day’s matches as he had no other place to go to!
The spectacle of International standard fights will be held in association with specialist sports and brand management company, ‘Integrated Brand Solutions (IBS)’ and will be supported by Harish Rawat’s ‘#CM4Youth’. IBS is a full service Brand solutions agency dedicated to maximizing experiences and ROI for client brands. With offices in Mumbai, Pune, Dehradun, Delhi, Bangalore, US & UK and through its extensive partner network span across the globe, it ensures seamless geographic and product outreach to discerning clients.
