New Delhi: As a 10-year-old kid, Amar Dhesi used to run around the mat at his father’s wrestling club in Surrey, BC for fun. Little did Amar knew know that 16 years later, he would be representing Canada at the sports grandest stage – Olympics. However, Amar’s Olympics debut didn’t go as planned as he finished 13th in men’s freestyle 125 kg category at Tokyo 2020. Three years later, Amar will once against represent Canada at the Olympics in Paris, hoping for a batter show and finish at the podium.
Interestingly, Amar is one of the three Punjab-origin athletes to represent Canada in Paris. Jasneet Nijjar (women’s 4x400m) and Jessica (water polo) are the other two. Although Amar was born in British Columbia, he has roots in Punjab, India. Amar’s father Balbir Singh Dhesi was a former national champion in the Greco-Roman category in the eighties and had trained at the National Institute of Sport in Patiala.
Balbir even got a job with the Punjab Police, but shifted to Canada for a better living. Like many others, Balbir too had Olympic dreams, but providing for the family took precedence over the sport. As a result, he started working in a sawmill factory, besides wrestling on his free time until a car accident made him stop. That’s when Balbir started Khalsa Wrestling Academy, the birthplace of ‘Amar the Wrestler’. Amar’s brother Param was also a wrestler and competed at 2010 Youth Olympics.
Amar first broke into limelight when he won 120kg gold at the 2014 World Junior Championships. His first senior worlds came in 2018. Since his 2014 junior gold at worlds, Amar endured three ACL tears in six years and underwent two reconstructive surgeries. However, the operations didn’t stop Amar from wrestling. 2022 proved to be the best year for Amar.
After winning his first senior gold at the Pan American Championships in 2022, the then 26-year-old went on to stand atop the podium with a 125kg gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. He ended the season with a fifth-place finish at the World Championships after advancing through the repechage to wrestle in a bronze medal match.
Amar qualified for Paris Olympics after finishing in top two in his weight class at the 2024 Pan American Olympic Qualifier.
