By Bal Sanghera
Every child dreams about competing in something or becoming someone special. Somedream about being in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Final with the game on the line in overtime. Guess who scores and wins the cup?
However, only a few will live this dream of even playing in the NHL let alone scoring that final goal. Still fewer are those that are able achieve their Olympic dreams let alone win a medal. The ultimate pride of any athlete is to represent their country and no doubt bring home a Gold medal for the glory of their nation. Unfortunately, only a few are lucky enough to receive this blessing amongst the millions that compete. Just to compete at the world stage is a huge accomplishment. The athletes must first win in their countries and then their regions from a group of countries just to qualify. Therefore, all Olympians are winners for they are the best of the best in the world. A medal is the icing on the cake.
Let’s turn back the clock twenty years to a little boy in Richmond with an Olympic dream. Who would have thought that he would actually get to the Olympics? It’s as great an accomplishment as the Stanley Cup fantasy. Incredibly, he did get there. He did compete in the Olympics. Not only did he compete he came close to winning a medal. A Richmond dream on the world stage. The five times Canadian Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, Arjan Singh Bhullar, was given a hero’s welcome at YVR when he returned from the Olympics. The expectation was high for him to bring home a medal. He was the Commonwealth Champion and also had won the German Grand Prix a few weeks prior to the Olympics.
Bhullar felt the pressure but had been confident. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side. He was grouped with countries that included the USA, Iran, Germany and the gold medal winner Uzbekistan. He would face one of the top countries of wrestling in his opening match, Iran. The match was even until the end when his opponent, Komeil Ghasemi, attempted to make a move and Bhullar countered but the Iranian succeeded and scored a crucial point to take the first round 1-0. In the second round, Bhullar stepped it up but gave up a point by stepping out backwards from the circle and lost the round 1-0. Ironically, the Iranian went on to win the Bronze medal. Bhullar was so close and yet it seems so far.
In the other group there were several wrestlers who Bhullar had previously beaten leading up to the Games, one wrestler even competed for a Bronze medal. In wrestling there is one Gold, one Silver, and two Bronze medals awarded. Either way, the Bronze medal slipped right out of his hands. He knows he was close and apologized to everyone for disappointing them. Everyone expected a medal but more than a medal it’s the pride and character of an athlete that people love and respect. Bhullar is a charismatic athlete, always smiling, always going out of his way to greet people and this they appreciate along with what he has accomplished. The gold medal winner from Uzbekistan was 34 and Bhullar is only 26. He has many years of wrestling left. The best is yet to come. Muhammad Ali once stated that “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” The dream of competing in the Olympics has been accomplished. Now the will must guide him to the podium of 2016 Brazil, the site of the next Olympics.
