The legendary Tiger Jeet Singh, a Canada-based grappler, plans to open up wrestling academies in his native Panjab.

The first of the planned state-of-the art Tiger Sports academies would be in Ludhiana and Patiala, Singh stated at a recent press conference in Panjab.

A young Tiger Jeet Singh

"I left Indian shores for Canada way back in 1971 with just C$6 in my pocket. Next March, my first son was born and I did not have even have C$90 to pay off the bill at the hospital. That initiated me on to the path of hard work and I was able to buy an island, a 100-acre estate, a beach, a lake, soccer fields, tennis courts and a forest where I keep animals and everything else I liked. Being in the money, I have learnt that real happiness comes only by giving to others and seeking pleasure in it," he said.

"I see the youth of Panjab twiddling their thumbs and falling prey to drugs. I want youths to engage in sports. With just two hours of exercise a day I get so tired that all I want to do is sleep. I do not think that youngsters would even think of drugs once they take to sports."

Tiger Jeet Singh was born Jagjit Singh Hans in Panjab, India, he immigrated to Canada in 1965 at age 17.

A brusied Tiger in the rink.

One of his professional grappler sons--whose ring name is Tiger Ali Singh--had sued the World Wrestling Entertainment group for religious and ethnic harassment.

Gurjit Singh Hans claims his turban, which is sacred in the Sikh religion, was swiped in 1999 from a locker and desecrated by World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. workers. He says they stuffed it with cigarette butts and garbage, and called the Indian-descended wrestler a "taxi driver."

"Another turban belonging to Gurjit Singh Hans was torn into pieces backstage and placed on the head of a mentally disturbed person for the 'amusement' of the WWE personnel present," Hans claimed in a legal filing.

The Ontario, Canada, resident says the harassment coincided and escalated with WWE efforts to get out of its contract with him.

The conduct included WWE demands that he wear his turban as a "gimmick" during matches, and make pre-match speeches that "referenced persons of Indian descent as likely being perceived as taxi driver and convenience-store operators," his filing says.

He also claimed he suffered a career-ending injury when he was forced to perform in an outdoor tag-team match in pouring rain.

Tiger is also the subject of a documentary that tracks the life and career of the legendary wrestler through archival and contemporary footage, along with firsthand insights from experts and acquaintances.