M Aamir Khan
Srinagar: After making a mark in the US’ Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE), Jammu and Kashmir‘s professional sports entertainment wrestler Badshah Khan is now setting eyes on the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Hailing from J&K’s Ramban district, Arif Bohru, 24, got the name ‘Badshah Khan’ from his mentor ‘The Great Khali’ when he entered the Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE) ring some three years back.
Khan said he wants to make Jammu and Kashmir proud and be counted among the top WWE professional wrestlers of the world.
“After returning from the US, Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE) was started by The Great Khali (highly popular WWE professional wrestler Dalip Singh Rana) in Jalandhar on the pattern of WWE. The academy was started with an aim to make professional wrestling popular in India and give a platform to wrestlers like us,” Khan told The Kashmir Monitor.
After being selected to the CWE three years back, he was trained by Khali. “Coaches from the US would also come and train us. Now, I have fought around 150 fights in CWE, Asian Wrestling Entertainment (AWE) and Wrestle Square and won 80-85 percent out of these,”
He said he was currently preparing for the WWE try-out and was training hard to make it to the popular US-based sports entertainment.
“I have done shows across India and in Nepal. I am the first from J&K to take to this field and am presently counted among the top professional wrestlers of India. My aim is to make J&K proud and be counted among the top WWE pro-wrestlers. I am preparing hard for the WWE try-out that is scheduled for March-April 2021. I am hopeful of getting selected….so far seven-eight male professional wrestlers and two females from the CWE have made it to the WWE,” said Khan.
However, he said the professional wrestlers in India were going through a tough time ever since the outbreak of Covid-19.
“This is an expensive sport as we have to look after our bodies and spend a lot on diet and training. Even though this sport is gradually gaining popularity in India, we used to do shows across the country before the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. This year has been tough and I have been training on my own without any sponsors or government support. But, despite all odds, I am still training hard and have set my eyes on WWE,” said Khan.
