The Times of India interviewed the new WWE champion Jinder Mahal after he won the title last night from Randy Orton at Backlash and he described May 21 as the best day of his life.

Mahal, who is from Calgary but of Indian descent, now joins the very small list of Indian-origin World champions in WWE, second only to The Great Khali. “I feel proud, very proud to be representing India in the WWE Universe. Obviously, India is a huge part of WWE and I am happy to bring the title back home and will continue to defend the title and make everybody proud,” the 30-year-old said.

Since the interview was held immediately following his win, Mahal told the Times that the moment has not yet fully set in as adrenaline is still pumping. “Tonight, if I have some alone time I can reflect on my full journey, how I started in wrestling, all the steps and road bumps that it took me to get to this part. It is a very emotional moment for me; 15 years of my hard work and dedication, my childhood dream has come true,” he added.

Mahal’s journey back to WWE took an unexpected turn for the better when he was traded from Raw to Smackdown in the Superstar Shake-up the week after WrestleMania. He quickly found himself in the main event scene after winning a number one contender’s battle royal.

He has never won a title in his two stints in WWE and on his first attempt, he won the big one, putting his name in the history books along with those of Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Triple H, and many others.

“It is a very big moment for me. There has not been a WWE champion from India after Khali. This is big moment for the fans in India. They are very passionate and hopefully more fans start to support when they see me as champion. I want to say thank you to the fans and without their support I would not have reached this level, so please keep on supporting and keep on watching WWE programming,” he concluded.