The Great Khali’s CWE lends desi twist to wrestling entertainment

Dalip Singh Rana, or The Great Khali, at the 8-acre Continental Wrestling League (CWE) campus near Jalandhar in Punjab. The CWE is an academy of wrestling-entertainment stars. (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

Updated on: Jun 27, 2016 5:00 PM IST

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Dalip Singh Rana, or The Great Khali, at the 8-acre Continental Wrestling League (CWE) campus near Jalandhar in Punjab. The CWE is an academy of wrestling-entertainment stars. (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

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Khali built the CWE over the past six years and now, with his WWE career having ended in 2014, the plan is to make it a WWE-style show “but with our people in the ring, a Hindi-English show, for India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the world”. (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

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“Every sport is entertainment. We are just honest about it... But can a sport in which you fling bodies around be just drama?” Khali says. (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

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Khali says there’s big money at the end of the tunnel. “Two of my trainees have got million-dollar contracts with WWE. They are at their in-house finishing academy before being put on the show. Another plays Hanuman in a TV serial.” (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

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And here’s the CWE roster - Hard KD: Kavita Devi, 33, is from a farming family in Jind, Haryana, and most recently won gold in the 75 kg weightlifting category at the South Asian Games in February. “I could not make the Rio (Olympics) cut, so headed here.” (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

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Rudra: From Banda in UP, Lakshmi Kant Rajput, 22, is from a farmimg family of traditional wrestlers. He is the reigning CWE champ, by the way. (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

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Shanky Singh: Gurvinder Singh Malhotra, 26, from Jagadhri in Haryana, 7’-1’’, as tall as Khali. Son of a factory supervisor, he turned to the gym while working as accountant at a university in Mullana. (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

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Super Khalsa: He is Inderpreet Singh, 24, powerlifter and bodybuilder from Jalandhar who has even got his entry music done professionally. (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)

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“I don’t understand why people say it’s naqli (fake),” says Khali, his irritation barely hiding behind a disarmingly cheeky smile. (Mental note: The giant has dimples.) (Anil Dayal/HT Photo)