Southern Abbotsford has its berry farms, greenhouses, and hatcheries, but about a kilometre from the American border is a wrestling factory.
The walls are adorned with trophies and past newspaper articles, the mats are worn, and the walls are faded, but the finished product inside this facility has the local wrestling community turning its head.
The Miri Piri Wrestling Club has been developing young grapplers for over 20 years in a small house just off Ross Road, and one of its most promising students will be on display at the BC high school wrestling championships.
Grade 11 Rick Hansen Secondary student Navi Toor has been dominating his division all season long, and is expected to win gold in the 57 kilogram division at this weekend’s event.
Toor hasn’t lost once in 30 matches this season, and even more impressive is the fact that he has yet to be scored on, shutting out every single opponent.
The Miri Piri school has become a second home for Toor, as he trains four days a week for two hours a day under head coach Sucha Mann. Mann is a former member of the Indian wrestling team and competed for the country at the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships. He said he noticed the potential in Toor at a young age after Toor attended a wrestling team tryout while in Grade 6 at Eugene Reimer Middle School.
“He was very speedy and was just a good kid, always smiling,” he said. “He listened to us and showed up to every practice and he has really developed his technique with us. He works very hard.”
Toor said he played team sports when he was younger, but loved the individual aspect of wrestling.
“I like the fact that it’s all on you,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about teammates, you can’t blame anyone but yourself.”
He said he felt like he belonged from the first practice, and the results speak for themselves.
Toor is a national champion in his weight class, winning the cadet freestyle gold medal in his class in both 2014 and 2015. He also earned a bronze medal at the Pan-Am Games last summer, and has won several regional and provincial tournaments.
The interest in Toor from post-secondary schools all across North America is already there, and receiving a scholarship is a goal for the 17-year-old.
But up first is the event in Abbotsford, and Toor said he’s looking forward to the opportunity to prove himself in his hometown.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity for me to show what I can do,” he said. “I want to dominate again.”
“My expectation is for him to win,” Mann added. “I really think he could go a long way with this sport.”
The BC high school wrestling championships run from Friday to Sunday at the Abbotsford Ag-Rec Building.