India

Wrestling Bout In Haryana? Know AAP’s Candidate Against Congress’ Vinesh Phogat In Assembly Elections

By
OB Bureau

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday announced Kavita Dalal, a former World Wrestling Entertainment player, as its candidate against the Congress’s star wrestler Vinesh Phogat, from the Julana Assembly seat in Haryana.

The BJP earlier announced Captain Yogesh Bairagi, a former commercial pilot, as its nominee from Julana.

The first Indian woman to sign on with the WWE, having achieved the same in 2017, Kavita will try to attract Jat votes like Phogat, the first Indian woman wrestler to make it to the Olympic finals.

Kavita, 37, said she respects Phogat for making a name for the country in the world. “Now, she is a political candidate in the Assembly polls. My fight will not be against Vinesh but against the difficulties people are facing in the Julana constituency,” she told The Indian Express (TIE).

The fourth among five siblings born to a farming family, belonging to Malvi village of Julana constituency, Kavita took up weightlifting at a very young age, inspired by her uncle Balwant Dalal. By 2008, she was winning medals in the 75-kg category, though her attempts to qualify for the Olympics failed.

In 2009, Kavita got married and had a child. She wanted to quit sports after that, but her husband Gaurav Tomar, a volleyball player from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, who is currently serving in the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), encouraged her to continue. By 2012, Kavita was training at the Jalandhar Academy of former WWE star Dalip Singh Rana, popularly known as The Great Khali, TIE reported.

In 2016, she was the winner of weightlifting gold in the 75-kg category at the South Asian Games. The next year, Kavita appeared for trials at Khali’s academy before competing in the WWE tryouts in Dubai in April 2017. Some months later, she competed in the Mae Young Classic in Orlando, USA. Kavita got the WWE contract the same year and later competed in WrestleMania and WWE Evolution.

In 2022, Kavita joined the AAP and is currently the head of its state sports wing.

 

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

Punjab AAP Leader Shot At During Argument With Akali Leader

New Delhi: An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader in Punjab was injured after he was…

October 6, 2024

Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal Kicked Out Of Shark Tank India; Here’s Why

New Delhi: There is a twist in Shark Tank India 4, which will soon be…

October 6, 2024

Fake Doctor From Bengal Who Ran A Clinic In Odisha’s Balangir Arrested

Balangir: A man, who was allegedly running an illegal clinic posing as a doctor in…

October 6, 2024

Action Taken Against 17 Students Over Ragging At Berhampur University In Odisha

Berhampur: Taking a tough stand over the alleged ragging incident at Berhampur University in Odisha’s…

October 6, 2024

Rayagada DFO Suspended Over Odisha Forester’s Death

Bhawanipatna: After the alleged suicide of forester Sanjay Nayak in Odisha triggered a major row,…

October 6, 2024

7 Dead As Fire Breaks Out At Single-Storey Building In Mumbai’s Chembur

New Delhi: At least seven people, including three minors, were killed after a fire broke…

October 6, 2024

Orange Warning: Rain, Lightning To Hit Bhubaneswar, Cuttack & 4 Odisha Dists Today

Bhubaneswar: Rain accompanied by thundershower and lightning is likely to lash four districts of Odisha,…

October 6, 2024

This City Has Been Ranked As ‘Best’ In The World

New Delhi: Sydney has been named the world's best city in a survey conducted by…

October 6, 2024