By R. Paul Dhillon
RICHMOND – 2010 Commonwealth Games Champion Arjan Bhullar will be part of PM Stephen Harper’s team on his second official visit to India next week.
Bhullar is leaving on November 2nd as part of Harper’s delegation comprised of 15-20 politicians and businessmen with the main aim of the trip to promote trade between India and Canada.
“I will be the only athlete travelling, and my role will be an Ambassador of Sport,” Bhullar told the LINK. “Many of the lessons learned in the field of sport can be transferred into the business world. Elite athletes, and more specifically wrestlers, have long been considered some of the best entrepreneurs/employees in the world.”
Bhullar said he is honoured to be able to represent the Sports community of Canada, while abroad in India. He is especially looking forward to my meeting with the Indian Minister of State for Sport and Youth.
“I believe the Canadian government chose me because of my history of success at an elite level in the sport of wrestling. Wrestling is arguably the most popular and competitive sport in India as well, with a history that stretches back thousands of years. I have been lucky enough to stay very connected with India,” Bhullart said.
He has not been back to India since his 2010 Gold medal victory at the Commonwealth Games which were held in the capital city of Delhi.
“I received tremendous support from the people of India at that time because of my Indian heritage, as well as Canada due to me being the only Gold medal winner on our team. Over the years I’ve had the privilege to connect with athletes of all sports, both in Canada and India. The pinnacle of all the years of hard work were the recent 2012 Olympic Games where I was not only the first wrestler in history of Indian descent to compete for Canada at an Olympic Games (in freestyle wrestling); but also the only athlete of Indian descent on the entire Canadian Olympic Team.”
Bhullat, Harper and their contingent will be touring the cities of Delhi, Chandigarh, and Bangalore. One of the main highlights of the trip will be a state dinner held by the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh.
