Kavita Dalal (born 20 September 1986) is an Indian professional wrestler who performed in the WWE under the ring name Kavita Devi, on their developmental territory NXT between 2017 and 2021. Devi is the first female professional wrestler of Indian nationality to wrestle in WWE.[4] Devi previously wrestled on the independent circuit under the ring names Kavita and Hard KD, most notably for Continental Wrestling Entertainment in India.[1]
| Kavita Devi | |
|---|---|
 Devi in April 2018 | |
| Birth name | Kavita Dalal |
| Born | 20 September 1986 Malvi, Jind District, Haryana, India |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Hard KD[1] Kavita Kavita Devi |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2] |
| Billed from | Haryana, India[2] |
| Trained by | The Great Khali[2] WWE Performance Center[1] Sara Del Rey |
| Debut | 2016[3] |
Personal life
editKavita Devi Dalal, one of the five siblings, was born in Malvi village of Julana tehsil of Jind district[5] of Haryana state of India. She got married in 2009 and gave birth to a child in 2010, after which she wanted to quit sports but inspired by her husband she continued playing.[5]
Weightlifting and powerlifting career
editMedal record
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Devi has represented India in international competition, she won gold in the 75 kg category at the 2016 South Asian Games.[2]
Awards
edit- 12th South Asian Games
- Gold in women's weightlifting 75 kg[6]
Professional wrestling career
editOn 24 February 2016, Kavita Dalal entered the promotion of The Great Khali named Continental Wrestling Entertainment, to begin her training as a professional wrestler. Devi made her debut for the promotion in June 2016, under the ring name Kavita, accepting the "Open Challenge" of B. B. Bull Bull before attacking her. On 25 June, she appeared with a new ring name, Hard KD, teaming with Sahil Sangwan in a losing effort against B. B. Bull Bull and Super Khalsa in the first mixed tag team match in promotion. Kavita cites her trainer The Great Khali as her main inspiration to become a professional wrestler.[2]
On 13 July, she was announced as one of the participants for the Mae Young Classic tournament.[7] On 28 August, Kavita was eliminated in the first round by Dakota Kai.[8]
On 15 October 2017, WWE announced that Devi had signed a contract, and will start training at their Performance Center in January 2018.[9] On 8 April 2018, Devi made her first appearance as part of the company while also making her WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania 34 competing during the inaugural WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal in which she was eliminated by Sarah Logan.[10] On 19 April, Devi made her NXT Live event debut as a heel, teaming with Aliyah against Dakota Kai and Steffanie Newell in a losing effort. She participated in the Mae Young Classic 2018 but lost in the first round against a returning Kaitlyn.[11] On 19 May 2021, it was announced that Devi was released from WWE.[12]
Business ventures
editIn January 2019, she started trials for selecting players to launch a WWE Super League in India.[5]
Electoral Performance
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INC | Vinesh Phogat | 65,080 | 46.86 |  37.02
| |
| BJP | Yogesh Kumar Bairagi | 59,065 | 42.53 | 12.66
| |
| INLD | Surender Lather | 10,158 | 7.31 | 6.66
| |
| JJP | Amarjeet Dhanda | 2,477 | 1.78 |  47.23
| |
| AAP | Kavita Dalal | 1,280 | 0.92 | 0.16
| |
| NOTA | None of the Above | 202 | 0.15 | 0.06
| |
| Majority | 6,015 | 4.33 | 14.81
| ||
| Turnout | 1,38,871 | 74.83 | 2.05
| ||
| Registered electors | 1,85,565 | ||||
| INC gain from JJP | Swing | 37.02
|
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See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Kavita Devi Cagematch profile". Cagematch. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Kavita Devi MYC Biography". WWE. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "Kavita Devi Wrestlingdata profile". Wrestlingdata. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "Kavita set to become 1st Indian woman to appear in WWE". tribuneindia.com. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ a b c "WWE में कविता दलाल की तरह अब और भारतीय छोरियां भी दिखाएंगी दमखम". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). 16 January 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "South Asian Games 2016: Gold rush continues for India on 4th day". catchnews.com. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
- ^ "Mae Young Classic competitors announced at Parade of Champions". WWE. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ Richard, Trionfo (28 August 2017). "Mae Young Classic Episode Three Report: Garrett Versus Niven, Belair Versus Beckett, Kai Versus Devi, And Storm Versus Raymond". PWInsider. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "WWE signs first female talent from India and the Middle East to developmental contracts". WWE. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ Stuart, Carapola (8 April 2018). "Complete Wrestlemania 34 Kickoff Show Coverage". PWInsider. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- ^ Williams, JJ (20 April 2018). "Nxt Sanford, Fl, Live Results: Kacy Catanzaro Makes Her Debut". F4WOnline. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^ Rose, Bryan (19 May 2021). "Eight NXT on-air talent released by WWE". WON/F4W. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ Election Commission of India (8 October 2024). "Haryana Assembly Election Results 2024 - Julana". Retrieved 31 October 2024.
External links
edit
- Kavita Devi on WWE.com
- Kavita Devi on Twitter
- Kavita Devi's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database