Rinku Singh Rajput is a 34-year-old professional wrestler from India. He is currently signed with World Wrestling Entertainment and performs on RAW. His ring name is Veer Mahaan.
Singh, the son of a truck driver, grew up in poverty in rural village called Gopiganj near Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh. He was one of nine siblings who lived in the family’s one-room house. As a child, Singh threw the javelin and played cricket. He was a junior national javelin medalist.
In early 2008, Singh entered an Indian reality television show called “The Million Dollar Arm.” The contest was created to find the individual in the country who could throw the fastest an most accurate baseball. Singh had never heard of baseball before but participated and ended up winning the contest out of over 37,000 participants. Singh threw the ball at over 87 miles per hour and won the grand prize of $100,000.
After winning the contest, Singh and runner-up Dinesh Patel travelled to Los Angeles where they trained with University of Southern California pitching coach Tom House. Singh said that most of his family did not agree with his decision to go to the United States. On their first day in the United States, they attended their first baseball game at USC. They continued to learn the game from House and Bernstein, as well as learning English.
Singh’s Professional Baseball Career
Singh and Patel tried out in front of scouts from 20 Major League Baseball teams in November 2008. Singh’s pitches reached 92 miles per hour (148 km/h). Reports from Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Joe Ferrone and Sean Campbell led to general manager Neal Huntington signing both to contracts with the organization. With the deal, the pair became the first Indians to sign American major league baseball contracts. The total signing bonus for both men was $8,000. After training, Singh and Patel returned to visit their families in India before entering Pirates training camp in Bradenton, Florida. Singh and Patel began the 2009 baseball season with the Pirates’ Gulf Coast League affiliate.
On July 4th 2009, Rinku Singh became the first Indian citizen to appear in a professional baseball game in the US. He pitched the seventh inning, while Dinesh Patel pitched the eighth inning. A few days later, on July 13th, Singh won his first professional baseball game in the US, striking out the only batter he faced. He finished the season with a 1–2 record and a 5.84 ERA in 11 games, allowing just one run on three hits in his final six appearances.
STATS
Birth name: Rinku Singh Rajput
Born: August 8, 1988, Gopiganj, Uttar Pradesh, India
Height: 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight: 276 lb (125 kg)
Ring name(s): Rinku, Rinku Singh, Veer, Veer Mahaan
Current Roster: WWE RAW
Veer’s Social Media:
Veer Mahaan’s Photos
