Gold medalist Jasmit Phulka led the charge for UFV’s wrestling team at the Simon Fraser University International tournament last weekend.
Phulka, competing in the 86-kilogram senior men’s division, battled his way to the title, capping his run with a 10-1 triumph over Josh Kim of SFU. Fellow varsity athlete Rohit Thandi came through with a fourth-place result in the 61 kg men’s event.
The Cascades wrestling club (non-varsity athletes) also produced some strong results. Brad Hildebrandt (97 kg) and OC Safar (54 kg) both won silver medals, while Aso Palani (fourth, 57 kg) and Manny Kalhon (fifth, 125 kg) notched top-five placings.
“We expect a lot from Jasmit, and he works hard and shows up on the mat every time he wrestles,” said UFV coach Raj Virdi.
“The whole team wrestled well. For their age and experience, they did fairly well. It was a tough tournament – it’s not just for university students, it was for any athlete age 18 and up. Some of them were world team members from the U.S. and Canada.”
This weekend, the Cascades are taking a group of wrestlers to a tournament hosted by Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, featuring competition from NCAA and NAIA schools.
For more information, contact Dan Kinvig at dan.kinvig@ufv.ca
11/10/2014