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Kavita Devi, The Salwar-Kameez-Clad Wrestler, Has Become The First Indian Woman To Fight In The WWE Ring

Her inspiration: The Great Khali.
HuffPost Staff
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Screenshot/YouTube

Remember that video of an Indian woman clad in an orange salwar-kameez accepting an open challenge of a professional wrestler and then totally slaying it? The video had gone viral last year.

The woman was Kavita Devi, a woman wrestler from Haryana who has broken the glass ceiling. India may be able to boast of many a wrestling talents Tiger Jeet Singh to The Great Khali, but until Devi, the country had never seen a woman in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) ring.

Devi, the former Haryana police officer is back in the news again.

A video that has gone viral shows how the Punjabi former mixed martial arts (MMA) champion fights it out at an event held by Continental Wrestling Entertainment, a promotion and training school launched by the Indian WWE champion The Great Khali. In the video from August 30 this year, Devi, clad in a saffron salwar-kameez again, is seen battling it with a Kiwi professional wrestler Cheree Crowley and pinning her down.

Earlier this year, Devi became the first Indian woman to compete in the WWE when she was included in the Mae Young Classic tournament.

In an interview to Times Of India, Devi said how she has grown up trying to emulate The Great Khali. "He was the first Indian man to win a world title, and I wanted to be the first woman," she said.

She has always been a huge fan of WWE. "I remember watching all the fights of wrestlers like The Undertaker and female wrestlers like Chyna," she added.

Canyon Ceman, Vice President, WWE Talent Development, told Hindustan Times that Devi gave a strong performance at WWE's 2017 Dubai tryout. "She is an athletic and extremely strong woman who demonstrated a solid grasp of the fundamentals of sports entertainment," he said.

Watch Devi fight here:

Also on HuffPost:

Traditional Indian Ways A Woman Can Wear A Sari
Malayali sari(01 of14)
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Girls dressed in traditional sari participate in tug-of-war organized by Keraleeya Samajam as part of Onam celebration on September 21, 2014. Onam is an annual harvest festival of Kerala. The festival is mainly celebrated by Malayalees around the world with traditional folk dances, artworks, etc. (credit:Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Maharashtrian sari(02 of14)
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An Indian woman dressed in traditional attire rides a motorbike in a procession to celebrate 'Gudi Padwa' or the Maharashtrian new year in Mumbai on March 27, 2009. Gudi Padwa is the Hindu new year celebration that falls on the first day of the month of Chaitra according to the lunar calendar and is celebrated by dancing and singing on the occasion with Thanksgiving to the Almighty. (credit:INDRANIL MUKHERJEE via Getty Images)
Bengali sari(03 of14)
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Bengali Hindu married women engaged in vermilion play on the last day of Durga Puja, the major religious event in West Bengal. (credit:Subhendu Sarkar via Getty Images)
Gujarati sari(04 of14)
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A group dances in a Gujarati wedding procession called 'varghodo'. (credit:Education Images via Getty Images)
Sari from Karnataka(05 of14)
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An Indian model draped in a saree walks the ramp during a fashion show organised by the Indian ethnic fashion garment house 'Rajguru Rise,' in Bangalore on July 23, 2013. (credit:MANJUNATH KIRAN via Getty Images)
(06 of14)
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A child holds on to the sari of her grandmother standing in a queue to cast her vote in Rajnandgaon, in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, now the center of India's four-decade Maoist insurgency, Thursday, April 17, 2014. (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Tribal sari(07 of14)
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Portrait of an elderly Rabari woman wearing traditional clothes and tribal jewellery. (credit:Raquel Maria Carbonell Pagola via Getty Images)
Rajasthani sari(08 of14)
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The women of Rajasthan show a distinct preference for bright-coloured saris. From the simple village women or tribal to queens, the preferred colors are bright red, dazzling yellow, lively green or brilliant orange, highlighted by a lavish use of sparkling gold and silver zari or gota. Tribal and nomadic women are known for their love for silver jewellery. The ornaments follow age-old designs typical of a particular tribe. In daily use the ladies wear normal ornaments of neck, hand, nose and ear but on special occasions and social functions women wear all the ornaments of different parts of the body to look beautiful and attractive. (Photo by: Majority World/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Majority World via Getty Images)
(09 of14)
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Rajasthani women are known for their simplicity, beauty and valor all over the world. They have been renowned for their grace and beauty. The women of Rajasthan show a distinct preference for bright costumes. From the simple village women or tribal to queens, the preferred colors are bright red, dazzling yellow, lively green or brilliant orange, highlighted by a lavish use of sparkling gold and silver zari or gota. Tribal and nomadic women are known for their love for silver jewellery. The ornaments follow age-old designs typical of a particular tribe. In daily use the ladies wear normal ornaments of neck, hand, nose and ear but on special occasions and social functions women wear all the ornaments of different parts of the body to look beautiful and attractive. Jaisalmir, Rajasthan. May 2, 2007. (Photo by: Majority World/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Majority World via Getty Images)
(10 of14)
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JAIPUR, RAJASTHAN, INDIA - 2003/04/01: Indian women wait to go to the temple at the Jaipur City Palace in Rajasthan, during the festival of Ganguar. Dedicated to Goddess Parvati, wife of Krishna and known as one of the nine ideal wives, Ganguar is the festival of fertility. During the festival, girls over the age of seven worship clay or wooden images, preparing themselves for their role as wives and mothers. After the festival the dolls are thrown into moving water, apparently assuring fertility and a prosperous love life. Married women such as this one pray for their husband's prosperity. (Photo by Leisa Tyler/LightRocket via Getty Images) (credit:Leisa Tyler via Getty Images)
(11 of14)
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Vegetable seller, Jaipur, India, 1936. From Peoples of the World in Pictures, edited by Harold Wheeler, published by Odhams Press Ltd (London, 1936). (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images) (credit:Print Collector via Getty Images)
Muria sari(12 of14)
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A girl from the Muria tribe carrying a water pot on her head in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India, circa 1945. (Photo by Dinodia Photos/Getty Images) (credit:Dinodia Photos via Getty Images)
(13 of14)
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Indian nautch girl, 1936. Nautch dancer wearing heavy jewellery. From Peoples of the World in Pictures, edited by Harold Wheeler, published by Odhams Press Ltd (London, 1936). (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images) (credit:Print Collector via Getty Images)
(14 of14)
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BANGLADESH - NOVEMBER 01: A mother and child in Bangladesh. (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images) (credit:Tim Graham via Getty Images)

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-- This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.