By Graham Cook
SFU wrestler Arjan Bhullar will compete for Canada in the Summer Olympics
Heavyweight wrestler and former Clan athlete Arjan Bhullar is headed to the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games to represent Canada in the 120 kg Men’s freestyle division. Bhullar, a Richmond native and lifelong athlete, has spent recent years constructing a lengthy athletic resume.
While wrestling for the Clan, Arjan Bhullar won two National Association of Intercollegiate Associates (NAIA) Championships and went on to become the only wrestler in history to win both the NAIA and CIS National Championships. He was the 2008 SFU Athlete of the Year, 2009 Canadian Wrestler of the Year, and 2011 Sport B.C. University Athlete of the Year.
Bhullar is still working on completing a major in political science; though he is taking time off to focus on wrestling full time, he stated, “My mom wants me to come back and finish after.” At a banquet in his honour, Bhullar spoke with The Peak about the upcoming Olympic games for which he said he has been preparing for all of his 26 years. He stated that qualifying for the Olympics was always his goal, adding, “I guess you could call it young and naive . . . but life works in mysterious ways and here I am on the cusp of winning a medal for my country.”
“It’s another day, another match,” said Bhullar about the Olympic games in London. “I’m trying to treat it as another tournament,” he added. Bhullar says he has as much of a chance as any other competitor, but “If you ask anyone else, I’m an underdog.”
Canada’s male wrestling team’s head coach Dave McKay, who also served as Arjan Bhullar’s coach during his time on SFU’s squad, also spoke with the The Peak about the upcoming games. He shared Bhullar’s notion of where the training process stood, stating, “There’s still lots of work to do . . . we’re not ready to peak.” McKay went on to describe Arjan Bhullar as “a guy who certainly put himself in a position to be successful. . . . He worked really hard, he did all the right things.” He added that Bhullar’s greatest attribute as a wrestler is his intelligence.
Also at the event was the former president of B.C. Athletics and a current Richmond city councillor, Bill McNulty. Also known as “Richmond’s man in motion,” McNulty has been involved in track and field for the past six decades both as a competitor and an organizer. While speaking with The Peak, he shared that he has known Arjan Bhullar and his family since he was a young man. “When you start off, everyone has the potential to be an Olympian . . . you have to have the desire to continue to excel and you have to have gentle handling, coaching, and mentorship to get you to the top,” said McNulty, who described Bhullar’s strengths as leading to a “tremendous honour for the Indo-Canadian Community.” Bill McNulty added a piece of advice for all Olympic athletes: “When you’re at the very top . . . it is one move that is the difference between gold, silver, bronze, and nothing.”
At the time of printing, there are eight other Canadian wrestlers, four male and four female, that will be joining Arjan Bhullar on Team Canada’s slate. David Tremblay, Haislan Garcia, Matt Gentry, Khetag Pliev, Carol Huynh, Tonya Verbeek, Martine Dugrenier, and Leah Callahan will all be making the trip to London this summer.
