Abbotsford’s Jasmit Phulka returned home from South Africa with some valuable cargo in his luggage.
The 2011 Rick Hansen Secondary grad earned a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, which wrapped up in Johannesburg on Dec. 17.
Competing in the 74 kilograms division, Phulka recorded wins over New Zealand’s Akash Khullar (9-1) and South Africa’s Jahannes Botha (11-1) to win the bronze, but dropped earlier matches to Indian wrestlers Parveen Rana (1-5) and Kumar Sushil (0-4).
Sushil and Rana won the gold and silver medals respectively in the 74 kg division at the event.
Other Canadians competing at the event included: Burnaby’s Darthe Capellan (fifth place, 57 kg) and Burnaby’s Sean Molle (third place, 125 kg).
Phulka currently trains with both Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club and Abbotsford’s Miri Piri Wrestling Club. He previously starred for the UFV Cascades wrestling program, and helped the team win its first-ever gold medal in Canada West competition back in 2014.
He also competed with the Cascades in 2015. Phulka was a four-time national wrestling champion at various levels and an Australia Cup champion (U-21).
His next event occurs in Cuba in February.
For more on the event, visit wrestling.ca.