The Abbotsford duo of Jasmit Singh Phulka and Nishan Preet Singh Randhawa earned bronze medals in their respective weight divisions at the 2025 Pan-American Championships, which wrapped up in Mexico on Sunday (May 11).
Phulka, competing in the 79 kilograms freestyle division, opened with an 8-3 win over Mexico's Victor Eduardo Hernandez Luna but then fell 10-0 to American and eventual gold medal winner Evan Wick. Phulka then dropped a 10-2 match to eventual silver medal winner Shane Christopher Jones of Puerto Rico, before bouncing back to capture bronze with an 11-0 win over Peru's Jose Santos Ambrocio Greifo.
This year marked the ninth time that Phulka has competed at the event and he also captured a silver in 2024. The local grappler has consistently been one of Canada's best international wrestlers over the past 15-plus years.
"I'm grateful for getting my fifth senior Pan-Am medal and my 24th international medal while proudly representing Canada for over 16 years," he told The News.
Randhawa, competing in the 97 kg freestyle division, kicked off the tournament with a 4-2 win over Venezuela's Cristian Jose Sarco Colmenarez and continued with a 10-0 win over Brazil's Ailton Brito Rocha. He then suffered 10-0 losses to eventual silver medallist Arturo Silot Torres of Cuba and tournament gold medallist Justin Lee Radmacher of the United States before earning bronze with an 11-0 win over Argentina's Ricardo Adrian Baez.
The 27-year-old made headlines by winning gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and at the 2017 Junior Pan-Am Championships.
The men's team won a total of eight medals (two silver and six bronze) at the event and finished second overall in the team competition.
Former UFV Cascades wrestlers Ana and Karla Godinez Gonzalez won gold medals in the 62 and 55 kg divisions respectively. Both women went undefeated at the tournament, with Ana not allowing a single point in her matches.
“It has been a while since I wrestled internationally and just in general,” stated Ana. “It felt great to just get back on the mats. Winning on the same day as Karla was also great, I knew she would win."
“Winning this Pan-Am Championship felt good,” added Karla. “I felt that I did what I had been working on, so I am proud of that. I am also so happy for Ana. She had a tight match in the finals, and I got a little nervous. I get more nervous watching her than competing myself, so when she won, I was so happy because it meant we had both won gold.”
The Canadian women also finished second in the team competition. For more information, visit wrestling.ca.
