THIS Famous Indian Actor Was A Decorated Athlete And An Olympian

If fans remember the Mahabharata actor Praveen Kumar Sobti, Indians would be proud to know that he also participated in the Mexico Olympics in 1968 and in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

If fans remember the Mahabharata actor Praveen Kumar Sobti, Indians would be proud to know that he also participated in the Mexico Olympics in 1968 and in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

Source : wikimedia commons

New Delhi: As the Paris Olympics 2024 rage on with Indian atheletes winning hearts and making the country proud for their performance, here is a rather interesting fact about the Olympics and actors that struck a chord with some eagle-eyed netizens. If fans remember the Punjab-born actor Praveen Kumar Sobti, who won his first gold medal at the Asian Games in 1966, Indians would be proud to know that he also participated in the Mexico Olympics in 1968 and in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

Who is Praveen Kumar Sobti

Praveen Kumar Sobti was a star in Indian hammer and discus throws for several years. He won gold medals at the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games, holding the Asian Games record of 56.76 metres. Sobti was also a silver medalist in the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston and in the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran. 

While Sobti could not perform well in the 1968 Olympics and the 1972 Summer Olympics, the athlete cited reasons like access to the field among others for not winning any medals.

However, the athlete was a star champion in both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. 

After Milkha Singh, Praveen Kumar Sobti holds the record of being the second athlete in Independent India to win a medal in athletics. And, no one has since won a medal in hammer throw at all for India.

Acting career

At 6 feet and 7 inches with an impressive demeanour, Kumar turned to acting post his sporting career to remain in the limelight. After making his debut as the large henchman in Jeetendra-starrer 'Raksha', Kumar earned massive acclaim and fame with the role of Bheem in BR Chopra's historical TV show 'Mahabharata', making him a household name.

90s kids would remember Sobti as 'Saaboo' from Chacha Chaudhary, the TV series, which was quite popular among them.

Besides Kamal Haasan, Praveen Kumar was the actor to act opposite whom  superstar Amitabh Bachchan delivered the popular punchline 'Rishte Mein To Hum Tumhare Baap Hote Hain, Naam Hai Shahenshah' in the blockbuster 'Shahenshah'.

Political career

After several years in the entertainment industry, Praveen Kumar Sobti joined politics and contested the Delhi Assembly Elections from the Wazirpur constituence on a Aam Aadmi Party( AAP) ticket in 2013 and lost. He later joined th Bhartiya Janata Party(BJP).

Sobti died from a heart attack in New Delhi on February 7, 2022 at the the age of 74.