Premchand Degra
India's Premchand Degra is a professional bodybuilder, who is also sometimes referred to as Premchand Dogra or Premchand Dhingra. Amongst his notable achievements is the Mr. Universe title that he won in the short-height 80 kg category back in the year 1988.
Premchand Degra also received the coveted Achievement Medal from the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) in 2003 after he won the World Middleweight Championship title in 1988.
Quick facts about Premchand Degra:
- Real Name: Premchand Degra a.k.a Premchand Dogra
- Weight: 166 lbs.
- Date of Birth: 1st December, 1955
- Place of Birth: Punjab, India
- Career Highlights: Mr. Universe title
- Marital Status: Single
Premchand lives in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab and is currently involved in training young bodybuilders in his own gym. He was also conferred the Padma Shri for his achievements by the Indian Government.
Premchand Degra Personal Life
Born on 1st December, 1955 at a small village called Babri Nangal in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab, Premchand Degra has worked extremely to achieve the physique that many can only dream of. Having completed his matric from the Government High School of the nearby Tibber village in 1973, Premchand Degra started his professional sporting career as a wrestler.But it was only in the year 1980 that he inculcated a liking for bodybuilding and soon went on to win the prestigious titles of Mr. Punjab, Mr. North India, Mr. India, which he won 9 times in a row, Mr, Asia (8 times), Mr. World (Middle-weight class) and finally Mr. Universe.
Besides the Padma Shri in 1990, Premchand Degra had earlier received the Arjuna Award in the year 1986. He was also conferred the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award by the Punjab Government in 1994, Tata best Sportsman Award in 1986 and the Charminar Challenge Trophy.
It was an auspicious debut for Premchand as he won a Bronze Medal in Middle-Weight Class at Darjeeling in 198O and he followed it up by claiming three more golds next year in the Mr. Punjab, Junior Mr. India and Senior Mr. India.
After successfully defending his title of Mr. India in middleweight category in 1984, Premchand Degra switched over to the light heavy weight category during the next five years and won the title of Mr India in that category too.
Premchand started his international career by winning the title of Mr. Asia in middle-weight category in Karachi during the year 1983 and repeated the performance at Seoul in 1984. Thereafter he shifted over to light heavy-weight category in Mr. Asia and won the coveted title three times in a row at Colombo in 1985, Taipei in 1986 and Malaysia in 1987.
Premchand fought the World Championships five times in the middle-weight category. His first appearance in 1984 at Las Vegas saw him finish at the 14th spot but worked hard then-on to rise to 4th place in 1985 in Sweden where he was also named the Most Improved Bodybuilder of the year. He won the silver medal at Tokyo in 1986 and was placed 4th again at Madrid in 1987.
The most important moment came in 1988 Queensland, Australia where he won the gold in middle-weight category. Premchand turned professional in 1989 and took part in the Mr. Olympia contest.
Premchand Degra participated in the following shows
- 1992 IFBB Niagra Falls Pro 18th
- 1989 IFBB Olympia 16th
- 1988 IFBB World Amateur Championships 1st
- 1987 IFBB Asian Amateur Championships 1st
- 1987 IFBB World Amateur Championships 4th
- 1986 IFBB Asian Amateur Championships 1st
- 1986 IFBB World Amateur Championships 2nd
- 1985 IFBB Asian Amateur Championships 1st
- 1985 IFBB World Amateur Championships 4th
- 1983 IFBB Asian Amateur Championships 1st