Gadadahari Bheem of Mahabharata fame, Praveen Kumar is no more

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The actor-athlete whose face immediately comes up whenever Bheem of Mahabharata is mentioned — Praveen Kumar Sobti — is no more. He passed away at the age of 74 in the Capital and was cremated today.</p>
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When the Mahabharat team travelled across the country in the 1980s to promote their show, Praveen Kumar would often be asked to repeat this dialogue from the episode of game of dice <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mahabharat?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mahabharat</a> <a href="https://t.co/mRDtf9Lq6C">pic.twitter.com/mRDtf9Lq6C</a></p>
— Arjun Narayanan (@madraswallah) <a href="https://twitter.com/madraswallah/status/1490974875372064769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
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He died of a heart attack at his residence. A member of his family told PTI: "He had a chronic chest infection problem. At night, when he started feeling uneasy, we called the doctor at home. He passed away between 10-10.30 pm following a cardiac arrest.”</p>
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Sobti was in the Border Security Force or BSF which he joined at the age of 20. He went to achieve sporting glory with medals at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. Later he carved for himself a successful stint in acting and politics.</p>
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Director General & All Ranks of BSF condole the untimely demise of Sh Praveen Kumar Sobti, former Deputy Commandant, Arjuna Awardee, two-time Olympian (1968 Mexico Games and 1972 Munich Games) & four-time Asian Games medallist (2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze).<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JaiHind?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JaiHind</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RIP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RIP</a> <a href="https://t.co/NPsqCjhou7">pic.twitter.com/NPsqCjhou7</a></p>
— BSF (@BSF_India) <a href="https://twitter.com/BSF_India/status/1490907546864930819?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The athlete represented India in the hammer and discus throw, winning gold medals for the discus event at the 1966 and 1970 Asian Games. In the 1966 Commonwealth Games and 1974 Asian Games he picked up silver medals besides competing in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics.</p>
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Besides playing the iconic Bheem in B.R. Chopra magnum opus <em>Mahabharat</em>, Sobti also acted in films like <em>Raksha, Shahenshah, Ajooba, Aaj Ka Arjun, Ghayal</em> and others.</p>
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