'Dangal coach' becomes international match referee

New Delhi: Wrestler Kripa Shankar Patel Bishnoi, who shot to fame for training Bollywood star Aamir Khan in the blockbuster movie 'Dangal', has become an international match referee.

The United World wrestling (UWW) has announced the inclusion of the Arjuna awardee Bishnoi in its international panel of referees. Bishnoi joined the long list of Indian referees at the international panel after clearing the examination for the Referees' Courses, which was held last year by the world body at Dortmund, Germany. Born and brought up at Harsood village in Khandwa district near Indore, Bishnoi gave the examination in German language.

The 40-year-old grappler cleared various stages during the examination, which included both practical and theoretical tests. Bishnoi, who won gold medals for India at the 2005 Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, took up coaching after hanging his boots. 'Dangal' is a biopic based on the life of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and his famous daughters -- Geeta and Babita.

Bishnoi trained Aamir, who played the role of Mahavir Phogat, as well as the two girls who played the characters of Geeta and Babita for almost one and a half years.
Post the release of the movie, the coach has won a lot of accolades for making the moves of all the actors seem as authentic as real life wrestling.