Rinku Singh's journey: From a rural village in India to WWE in USA

Rinku Singh (Pic/ Rinku Singh Instagram)

WWE NXT talent Rinku Singh had a chat with mid-day.com, where he opens up about how he wanted to earn money so that his father could retire and how Akshay Kumar has inspired his life. Read on..

You were born and brought up in India, Can you tell us a bit about your growing up years?
I grew up in a very small village, about an hour away from Varanasi, Growing up in a small village, we did not have a lot to offer, but we had everything that we needed. My father was a truck driver, while my mother's number one priority was to raise us in the best way possible. It was a very peaceful life, but the struggle to adjust from a village life in India to coming to America has been an incredible journey for me.

What sport did you play in your childhood?
I used to love Javelin and was pretty good at that.

How did you get into playing baseball?
I was playing Javelin back in the day and was not able to make much money as I wanted to make my father retire and make a home for my family. So I found out about this competition called the Million Dollar Arm, where if i could throw that baseball at more than 90 miles per hour, I could win million dollars. At first when I heard about it, I thought it was an absolute scam, I mean who gives you a million dollars just to throw a fast ball. My coach however, encouraged me to go for the tryouts, so I gave it a second thought and calculated how much is a million dollars in Indian Rupees and the next thing i did was leave everything, catch a train and head for the tryouts. The rest is history..

What inspired you to get into WWE and become an NXT talent?
My inspiration was the power that the WWE universe gave me to share my story with the world. WWE gave me the chance to become a role model to all the kids around the globe. Apart from that, the biggest inspiration for me to join WWE was John Cena.

What do you aim to achieve from your WWE career?
I want to become India's first WWE Tag Team champion, after that is achieved i can focus on a lot of other goals.

Are you a vegetarian? What does your daily diet consist of?
I used to be vegetarian for a few years, but then i had to switch back to non-veg. I was in a good place spiritually when i was vegetarian but it became hard to find vegetarian restaurants everyday in the US.

Do you watch Bollywood movies? Who is your favourite actor?
Akshay Kumar! I have followed his work through the years and he is an amazing human being. Akshay Kumar has also done a lot for our Indian soldiers as well. My favourite Akshay Kumar film is Welcome

Any message for youngsters who want to get into WWE like you?
Train hard and give more than 100 percent. If you do give more than you 100 percent, you will come to America and you will get into the WWE, just give it your all.

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