NEW DELHI: The former competitive powerlifter and South Asian Games gold medal winner Kavita Devi has been selected to compete in the Mae Young Classic, which is the first ever WWE tournament for women, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) announced on Thursday.
Kavita, who hails from Haryana, has undergone training to be a professional wrestler under the guidance of former WWE champion 'The Great Khali' at his Punjab based wrestling promotion and training academy.
Kavita participated in the WWE Dubai tryout earlier this year in April where she gained the attention of talent scouts with her strong performance. Now, Kavita will be making history as the first Indian woman ever to appear in WWE. She will be competing with 31 other top female competitors from around the world in the first-ever Mae Young Classic.
Commenting on the development, an elated Kavita said: "I am honoured to be the first Indian woman to compete in WWE's first ever women's tournament. I hope to use this platform to inspire other Indian women with my performance and make India proud."
The first-ever Mae Young Classic will take place from July 13-14 at Full Sail Live in Orlando, Florida.
Vice-President of WWE Talent Development, Canyon Ceman said: "Kavita 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, and a passion to improve that will serve her well in WWE's upcoming Mae Young Classic tournament."
The tournament, named after WWE Hall of Famer and one of the greatest WWE super stars in history, Mae Young, will feature 32 of the top female competitors from around the world participating in a single-elimination tournament.