Olympian Bhim Singh remembers his teammate, roommate Olympian Praveen Kumar aka Mahabharat’s Bhim

In the 1968 Mexico Olympics, there were only two athletes in the Indian contingent – High jumper Bhim Singh and Hammer Thrower Praveen Kumar, who later became a household name for essaying a role of Bhim in BR Chopra’s television series Mahabharat.  

“We both got our major international break during the 1966 Asian Games. I won gold in the high jump, while Parveen won gold in discus throw and silver in hammer throw. From there we became friends and our friendship grew thicker during the 1968 Mexico Olympics. During the athletics trials for the Mexico games, only two of us could achieve the selection mark and it was the smallest ever Indian athletics contingent in the Olympics post Independence. We were roommates in Mexico. He had a great sense of humor and could crack a joke at a drop of a hat. We even got the Arjuna award in the same year (1967) and were also part of the Indian contingent during the 1972 Munich Olympics,” says Bhim Singh, remembering his friend Praveen Kumar, 75, who passed away on Monday. “He was one of the greatest athletes of the country, participating in Two Olympics, winning four Asian Games and one Commonwealth Games medal. Later he became famous for his role of Mahabharat’s Bhim. And after that whenever we met, he used to recite the Mahabharat’s dialogue main kunti putra Bhim or tum kaun.”

Parveen Kumar’s height (6.8) and broad physique made him stand out in the Indian contingent and was a crowd puller during the international competitions. “He was the tallest player in the hammer throw event during the Mexico Olympics and because of towering personality he used to get a lot of attention, especially from the women sportspersons. He used to be the star of our contingent,” recalls Bhim Singh. “Actor Ashok Kumar spotted him and got him the role of Bhim in Mahabharat. But even after becoming a celebrity, he remained grounded and was always available for athletics. The character of Bhim made him immortal and he will be remembered forever.”