Canadian wrestlers battled to earn the right to be Canada’s representative at one of 12 weight classes (six in men’s freestyle, six in women’s wrestling) and attempt to qualify the weight class for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
According to Wrestling Canada, the 97kg weight class came down to Abbotsford, British Columbia’s Nishan Randhawa, the number one ranked wrestler, and Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia’s Riley Otto, the number two ranked. Randhawa took control of the contest with a 7-0 win in the first round. He followed it with another strong performance, winning the second 9-0.
The 125kg weight class was an all-British Columbia match up between top ranked Surrey’s Amar Dhesi and three seed, Abbotsford’s Jorowar Dhinsa. Dhinsa defeated Niagara Falls, Ontario’s Richard DesChatelets, during the morning session and with an injury to the number two seed, advanced to the final against Dhesi. Dhesi earned a quick fall in the opening match and then Dhesi scored another fall in the second match to take the best of three.
Vancouver Police Department Deputy Chief Constable too to social media to congratulate Amar Dhesi on his success. “Congratulations to VancouverPD’s Amar Dhesi for winning the 2023 Canadian Olympic Team trials in Edmonton, Alberta. Successful 1st step in qualifying for the #2024ParisOlympicGames. VPD happy to support his bid for Canadian Gold.”
Now that the winners have been crowned, they still need to qualify their respective weight classes internationally to earn their spot at the 2024 Olympics. Their next opportunity will come at the Pan-American Olympic Qualifier Feb. 28- March 1 in Acapulco, Mexico.
Surrey’s own Dhesi won a gold medal in the men’s 125kg wrestling event, and Abbotsford’s wrestler Nishan Randhawa won a gold medal in the 97-kilo category at the Birmingham Commonwealth games in 2022.
