AMAR Dhesi (125 kg) of Surrey and Nishan Randhawa (97 kg) of Abbotsford won gold medals, while Jasmit Phulka of Abbotsford bagged a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

Amar Dhesi, who represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics, led Canada’s men team. He recently won gold at the 2022 Pan-American Championships.

AMAR DHESI

Amar Dhesi received a first round by and faced Jamaica’s Aaron Johnson in the quarterfinal. Dhesi was able to score big with an ankle lace and took the win 10-0.

Dhesi drew a tough match up in the semifinal against Mohit Grewal of India. After a tight first period, Dhesi took over in the second and picked up the win 12-2.

That win pit Dhesi against Zaman Anwar of Pakistan for gold. Dhesi, who’s family immigrated to Canada from India in the 1970s, had the heavy India crowd behind him in the match and was able to feed off their energy. Dhesi scored early and then, after giving up his only two points, found himself in a dominant position. He was able to turn it into a pin and took the win by fall, securing the first gold for Canadian wrestlers.

“Accomplishing this feels really good. It was for the family and people back home. I know the Commonwealth Games are a big deal in Canada, so it felt good. I wrestled as hard as I could,” Dhesi said after the win. “Now, I just want to carry this momentum from here and at Pan Ams (where Dhesi also won gold) into the World Championships. I feel very carefree, I will wrestle as hard as I can and whatever the outcome is, it is.”

Amar Dhesi with Khalsa Wrestling Club members and supporters.

NISHAN RANDHAWA

Nishan Randhawa drew a tough opponent in the quarterfinal in Deepak Nehra of India. It was a back-and-forth match but Randhawa was able to pull out a late victory, with a force out in the final second. After a failed challenge by India, Randhawa’s win was confirmed 8-6.

Randhawa used that momentum in his semifinal match against Pakistan’s Tayab Raza. Randhawa never let Raza into this one, winning on points 7-0.

With the win, Randhawa went for gold against Nicolaas De Lange of South Africa. De Lange opened the scoring, but Randhawa cut to 2-1 and then scored a takedown right at the buzzer to lead 3-2 at the break. He added to his lead in the second making it 5-3, then 7-3. from there he applied a gutwrench to make it 9-3 and held on to win gold!

“This feels amazing! It has been a long road, I had a couple injuries along the way but finished off strong and I hope to keep this momentum into the World Championships in Serbia where I will give it my all and try to win another medal for my country,” said Randhawa after the win. He went on to elaborate about the grind to the gold medal. “I picked up some injuries in the first match, I fought through the semifinal and felt they caused me to be a bit more hesitant in the final match. As it went on, I feel like I picked up the pace and it all turned out pretty good.”

JASMIT PHULKA

Jasmit Phulka opened his competition with a qualification round win over Nicolae Cojocaru of Scotland 7-5.

Up next was a quarterfinal match against Muhammad Tahir of Pakistan. This one went down to the wire but in the end, Tahir would edge out Phulka 5-1.

After Tahir advanced to the final, Phulka got a second chance with a repechage match against John Vake of Tonga. He would make good on the chance winning by superiority 11-0.

That meant a bronze medal match against Cole Hawkins of New Zealand. Phulka opened the scoring and then slowly built his lead. With 15 second left in the first round, he finished it and won the bronze by superiority 11-1.

“I thought my performance was great today, but I was just grateful for the opportunity and was taking it in. Two weeks ago, I met with (former Olympic wrestler) Matt Gentry who told me ‘There is no need to have pressure, you can’t do this your whole life, so enjoy it and have fun.’ Since I have taken that philosophy I have started to look towards the 2026 Commonwealth Games. I am 28 years old, but I feel I have a lot left in me because I love what I do and want these moments to last forever.”

(Performances according to Wrestling Canada)