Excelsior Sports Correspondent
Jammu, Oct 5: He is six feet and two inches tall with 105-kg body weight and when steps into the ring, is a hard nut to be cracked by the opponents. Meet Arif Saleem Bohru popularly known as ‘Badshah Khan’, 25, the first PRO wrestler from remote belt of Ramban district in Jammu and Kashmir.
Badshah is born and brought up in a middle class family. Motivated by his father, who is serving in belt forces as Inspector, Badshah Khan, despite financial constraints, in the year 2018, joined the Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE) academy at Jalandhar in neighbouring Punjab, owned and run by the giant Indian WWE fighter–the ‘Great Khali’.
Since childhood, I have been passionate about wrestling and used to fight with my siblings (brother and sister) to try hand on some of the moves I used to copy from the WWF fights, says Badshah Khan.
Inspired by professional wrestler ‘Triple H’, Khan says that as he grew younger, he became obsessed with this format of wrestling and ultimately, his father motivated him to continue with the sport after which he shifted to the academy run by ‘Great Khali’.
And the journey that started in 2018 from village Neel of District Ramban—is still continuing and Badshah presently is a brand name in India.
My father paid a handsome fee to the academy, which has to be deposited annually and also bearing thousands of expenses on a monthly basis on my diet, supplements, fights and other needs, out of his savings and salary so that I can live my dreams. Every weekend, Badshah participates in a ‘breakdown show’ in which PRO wrestlers from parts of the country take part and recently he has also won the ‘national championship’ title.
These days, Badshah Khan is training hard for the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) tryouts scheduled to be held this year in India. Hopeful of making his family jubilant, Badshah wants to make Jammu and Kashmir proud at International level by making into the top WWE professional wrestlers in the world.
At present, I am among the top five pro-wrestlers of India, he says, adding that he spends additional hours of in-ring practice to cherish his dream. Besides being trained by his ‘master guru’ Great Khali, foreign based wrestlers are also coached to sharpen the skills of the wrestler. Stating that Jammu and Kashmir is filled with talent but youth need financial support from the government.
I tried to approach the Jammu and Kashmir administration with a hope of flourishing PRO wrestling in parts of this rugged region but nobody paid heed to my desire of training young turks, he expressed.
Having words of appreciation for his mentor, the wrestler said that he always stood by him and boosted him with tips to use in the ring. ?The name ‘Badshah Khan’ is given to me by Khali Sir and today the nation recognises me with this, he said.
Jammu and Kashmir youth can excel in every field but due to lack of infrastructure, financial support, poor background, some good talent remains hidden, feels Badshah.
He appealed to the Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha to have a comprehensive policy for talented youth, who can earn a name but due to financial constraints, are unable to live their dreams.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
