Dara Singh's fight against King Kong will always be remembered

Wrestler-turned-actor Dara Singh, who passed away today, will always be remembered for one of the most exciting fights in the history of wrestling competitions when he lifted an almost 200kg King Kong of Australia over his head and twirled him around.

In what went down in the history as one of the most breathtaking fights in the wrestling ring, Dara Singh, weighing 130 kg, lifted King Kong over his head and twirled him around in dramatic fashion. It made King Kong yell at the referee, reminding him that this was not in the rules.

When the referee tried to come and stop it, Dara Singh virtually threw the Australian out of the ring and he fell just a few feet from the crowd.

His bouts with King Kong invariably attracted huge crowds who were left fascinated by the show of strength and skills.

Apart from Dara Singh and King Kong, Flash Gordon was the third wrestler who ruled the ring in 1950s.

And the myths created by the press agents made these wrestlers seem to be invincible men, so to see them fighting in the ring was like watching two invincibles trying to destroy each other.

While Dara Singh used to eat enormous number of chapatis, King Kong used to swallow chickens by the dozens.

Dara Singh took part in about 500 professional fights, all undefeated while competing against some of the greatest names like George Gordienko of Canada, John Desilva of New Zealand and others.

He won the title of 'Rustam-E-Punjab' and 'Rustam-e-Hind' for his wrestling prowess.

The wrestler entered the film industry in the fifties and is known for his roles in "King Kong" and "Faulad". The veteran actor also played the character of Hanuman in Ramanand Sagar's epic television series 'Ramayan'.