The Great Khaliਦਿ ਗ੍ਰੇਟ ਖਲੀ

Early life

Dalip Singh Rana was born on 27 August 1972 in Dhiraina, a village in the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh, into a poor family — one of seven siblings. He has acromegaly, a hormonal disorder that caused his extraordinary growth: he stands 7 ft 1 in (2.15 m) tall. As a young man working as a security guard in Shimla, he was noticed by a Punjab Police officer known for mentoring athletes, who facilitated his recruitment into the Punjab Police in 1993, where he began serious physical training.

Wrestling career before WWE

Wrestling as Giant Singh, Rana made his professional debut in October 2000 with All Pro Wrestling in California. He went on to compete in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling — where he teamed with fellow giant wrestler Giant Silva as one of the tallest tag teams in history — and in Mexico for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, before his big break arrived.

WWE and the World Heavyweight Championship

On 2 January 2006, Rana became the first Indian professional wrestler signed by WWE. Debuting on SmackDown that April as The Great Khali, he attacked The Undertaker and was presented as an unstoppable giant, feuding with The Undertaker, John Cena, Batista and Triple H. On 20 July 2007, Khali won a 20-man battle royal on SmackDown to capture the vacant World Heavyweight Championship — becoming the first Indian-born world champion in WWE history. He defended the title against Batista and Kane before losing it to Batista at Unforgiven that September. In later years he became a fan favourite with the comedy ‘Khali Kiss Cam’ segment. His WWE contract expired in November 2014.

Beyond the ring

Khali acted in Hollywood films including The Longest Yard (2005) and Get Smart (2008), and finished runner-up on the reality show Bigg Boss 4 in 2011. In February 2015 he founded Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE), a wrestling promotion and training academy in Jalandhar, Punjab, whose trainees Dilsher Shanky and Kavita Devi later signed with WWE. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021. Rana married Harminder Kaur in 2002 and they have two children; in 2022 he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Legacy

Standing over seven feet tall, The Great Khali remains the most famous Indian professional wrestler of all time — the man who carried Indian wrestling onto the world stage and inspired a generation of Indian wrestlers to follow him into the ring.

Was The Great Khali really the first Indian WWE world champion?

Yes. When he won the World Heavyweight Championship on 20 July 2007, he became the first Indian-born wrestler to hold a world title in WWE.

What is The Great Khali’s real name?

His real name is Dalip Singh Rana. He wrestled early in his career as Giant Singh before WWE gave him the ring name The Great Khali.

Where is The Great Khali from?

He was born in Dhiraina village in Himachal Pradesh, joined the Punjab Police in 1993, and later founded his Continental Wrestling Entertainment academy in Jalandhar, Punjab.