Rinku Singh (baseball)
Rinku Singh (baseball)
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Rinku Singh (baseball)

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Rinku Singh (baseball)

Rinku Singh Rajput (born 8 August 1988) is an Indian former professional wrestler and former professional baseball player. As a professional wrestler, he is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring names Rinku (shortened from his complete name) and Veer Mahaan (or simply Veer).

Singh was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates organisation after winning a pitching contest on a 2008 reality television show The Million Dollar Arm. He was the first Indian to play professional baseball and spent several seasons in the minor leagues, reaching the Single-A level. He is the subject of the movie Million Dollar Arm.

After retiring from baseball, Singh signed a contract with WWE in January 2018 and spent time on NXT as a tag team with Saurav Gurjar called "Indus Sher", and spent time on the main roster, particularly on the Raw brand aligning with Jinder Mahal at one point (as Indus Sher and as an unnamed tag team with Shanky), as well as being a singles wrestler. He was released from the company in April 2024.

Rinku Singh Rajput was born on 8 August 1988 in Gopiganj, Uttar Pradesh, India, in a Rajput Kshatriya family. The son of a truck driver, Singh grew up in poverty in Gopiganj, Bhadohi. Singh was one of nine siblings who all lived in the family's one-room house. The home had electricity but relied on well water. Singh threw the javelin and played cricket as a little boy. He was a junior national javelin medalist. Singh is an alumnus of the Guru Gobind Singh Sports College, Lucknow.

In early 2008, Singh entered an Indian reality television show The Million Dollar Arm. The contest was created by an American sports agent J. B. Bernstein and his partners Ash Vasudevan and Will Chang to find the individual in the country who could throw the fastest and most accurate baseball. Having never heard of baseball before, Singh won the contest out of over 37,000 participants after throwing 87 miles per hour. The grand prize for the contest was $100,000.

After winning the contest, Singh and runner-up Dinesh Patel travelled to Los Angeles where they trained with University of Southern California pitching coach Tom House, who trained pitchers such as Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson. Singh said that most of his family did not agree with his decision to go to the United States. On their first day in the United States the two attended their first baseball game at USC. They continued to learn the game from House and Bernstein, as well as learning English.

Singh, along with Patel, tried out in front of scouts from 20 Major League Baseball teams in November 2008, and Singh's pitches reached 92 miles per hour (148 km/h). Reports from Pittsburgh Pirates scouts Joe Ferrone and Sean Campbell led to general manager Neal Huntington signing both to contracts with the organisation. With the deal, the pair became the first Indians to sign American major league baseball contracts. The total signing bonus for the two was $8,000. After training, the two returned to visit their families in India before entering Pirates training camp in Bradenton, Florida. Singh and Patel began the 2009 baseball season with the Pirates' Gulf Coast League affiliate.

On 4 July 2009, Singh became the first Indian citizen to appear in a professional baseball game in the US. He pitched the seventh inning, while Dinesh Patel pitched the eighth inning. On 13 July 2009, Singh won his first professional baseball game in America, striking out the only batter he faced. He finished the season with a 1–2 record and a 5.84 ERA in 11 games, allowing just one run on three hits in his final six appearances.

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