Jinder Mahal's country: Is the former WWE champion Indian or Canadian?

WWE fans often get confused about Jinder Mahal's country of birth. He is either regarded as Indian or Canadian. The former world champion portrays a husky Punjabi (Indian) gimmick, but his nationality is different.

The real-life Yuvraj Singh Dhesi grew up in a wrestling family. He is the nephew of IMPACT Wrestling legend Gama Singh, who inspired him to begin his professional wrestling career at Martial Arts Fitness Center in Calgary, training with Rick Bognar.

Contrary to popular belief, Jinder Mahal's country of origin is Canada rather than India. He was born on July 19, 1986, in Calgary, Alberta, to a Sikh family. Mahal hails from an Indian Punjabi descent, though, which is why his character is named the Modern Day Maharaja as a tribute to Indian kings.

Jinder has been a mainstay of WWE since 2010. He debuted on the main roster as The Great Khali's brother-in-law in April 2011. Their alliance was short-lived, however, and Mahal eventually became a solo act. His most notable run was alongside Health Slater and Drew McIntyre, popularly known as the 3-Man Band (3MB) from 2012-14.

The Modern Day Maharaja reached the pinnacle during his second stint with the company in 2017 when he defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Title. Although the build-up to his main event plans was questionable, he reigned for an impressive 170 days before being dethroned by AJ Styles on an episode of SmackDown before Survivor Series.

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Jinder Mahal is going to face Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship on the upcoming show

Despite being in WWE for over a decade, Jinder Mahal has rarely tasted success. He has only held championships four times, two of them being the 24/7 title. The leader of the Indus Sher faction now has a chance to bag his first NXT Championship this Tuesday.

Triple H is massively promoting WWE to the Indian market. Plans for a live event on the sub-continent are also coming to fruition. Will Mahal headline that show as the reigning NXT Champion?

Chances are likely. However, the promotion may need to gauge the American audience's reaction before pulling the trigger on Mahal's title run. They seemed cool when Jinder Mahal challenged Bron Breakker, but reigning as the champion could be a different case.