Biography

• Born: May 13th, 1986
• Residence: Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
• Family: Avtar (father), Sal (mother), Jora (brother), Jasmin (sister)
• High school: Hugh McRoberts Secondary
• College/University: Simon Fraser University
• Height: 6' 1"
• Weight class: 120kg

The visions of Arjan Bhullar becoming champion of the world began long before he was born. His father, Avtar Bhullar, an immigrant from India (came to Vancouver in the early 70s) who was an accomplished wrestler himself, dreamt of one day helping his future son achieve what he was not able to; with this, the seeds were planted for Arjan Bhullar's ultimate quest of becoming the best!...

Family has always been a very important aspect of Arjan's life. He grew up on a farm in Richmond, British Columbia, where there was never a dull moment as numerous family members shared the same roof, putting them at close to two dozen. Besides family, the door was always open for family friends and new immigrants who passed through and stayed as long as they needed in order to get on their feet. The family had built a makeshift gym out of concrete and wood for the wrestler at that time, his father Avtar; and it is said that Arjan took his very first steps on the wrestling mat in that very gym.

Arjan began wrestling at a very early age, yet stayed competitive in several other sports; mainly basketball and football. He went to James Whiteside Elementary School and played the center position- scoring the winning basket as time expired, helping his team win the city championships and earning him the MVP award. He continued to compete in all three sports and eventually enrolled into Hugh McRoberts Secondary. It was in high school that he helped his football team, the Richmond Raiders, to another city championship. Even though he enjoyed both football and basketball, he had a constant pull towards wrestling. At that time there were no wrestling programs in any high school in Richmond. The last person to run a successful program in Richmond was his Social Studies teacher, Joe Clemente; however there was not enough funding and interest to keep the program running. It was at this time that the family came together once again to help their wrestler chase the ultimate dream...

The family moved onto a bigger farm and built another gym. It was here that Arjan put in countless hours of work as his father coached him and laid the foundation on which numerous coaches and athletes would later build upon. He was unable to compete at the high school provincial championships in grade nine as it was not permitted for an athlete to compete in two sports that are played in the same season (basketball, wrestling); Arjan was devastated. He continued to work hard and eventually dropped all other sports- focusing solely on wrestling. He went on to win three provincial titles in a row as well as 3 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze in national competitions. In grade twelve he was able to win the National Championships in his age group as well as win a gold medal at the U21 National Championships (after a disappointing bronze the year before). Although he had great success under his father in the family gym, there were many more who joined the team and aided him along the way.

One person who was instrumental in his development was Coach Nick Ugoalah, who himself was a National Team member and a Commonwealth Games gold medalist. Nick taught him much about thinking outside the box, and to constantly challenge himself both physically and mentally. Under Nick, he learned just as much about the human body as he did about the sport of wrestling. Soon after, Arjan began practicing with the Simon Fraser University varsity team and members of the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling team. It was here that he made drastic improvements, competing with men much older and more skilled than himself. It was also an intensity that he had never experienced before, as many senior athletes prepared for their international tournaments in this very room. Because of the level of training and coaching available, it was at Simon Fraser that Arjan decided to enrol once he graduated from high school.

Under legendary coach Mike Jones, Simon Fraser has helped Canada produce numerous top level wrestlers and win close to a dozen World and Olympic medals, including Canada's only Gold Medal belonging to Daniel Igali. It was in this room that Arjan made his biggest gains. He captured his first medal at the Senior National Championships, beating Guelph's Jamie Cox for the bronze medal; He also won a second gold medal at the Junior National Championships. Mike Jones, National Team Coach Dave McKay, and coach Justin Abdou all kept a watchful eye on him as he prepared for his first world championships (U21).

Although he was able to capture a gold medal at the U21 Pan American Championships, the competition at the world championships was at a different level. He wrestled hard and eventually placed 5th, losing in overtime in the bronze medal match to a wrestler from Belarus. The next year was his most difficult year both on and off the mat, as he was sidelined for close to 6 months. He tore ligaments in his knee and suffered the first major injury of his career. While he recovered from this devastating injury, he was diagnosed with a rare bacterial infection which he contracted while competing overseas; It took doctors nearly a month just to identify and diagnose, and close to six months of medication to treat. This took a major toll on Arjan, both physically and mentally. He travelled numerous times to the hospital in order to get hooked up to an I.V. (intravenous) and continued to receive liver tests every two weeks as the medication prescribed was so potent. This was the longest break he had ever had from wrestling, which made the experience that much more difficult. Eventually Arjan was able to return, but this time with a new outlook and increased motivation to excel. Although he was able to come back and make the Canadian Junior Team for a third year in a row, he did not perform well at the world championships losing once again to a wrestler from Belarus. He was glad to finally be back and be able to compete, but it took Arjan close to six months to return to form. He promised himself things would turnaround...

He feels very fortunate to have the coaches and team-mates that he has, as both have been instrumental in his success. Over the last two years, Arjan has won two consecutive Senior National Gold Medals (the first one being extra special as he won in front of over a dozen family members who made the trip out to Calgary), representing the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling team and Team B.C. He has also represented Simon Fraser University internationally, capturing a bronze medal at the World University Championships in Mongolia. Recently, Arjan won the Canadian Olympic Trials held in Ontario, besting Guelph's Jamie Cox in a best of three series. Although he was also able to capture a Bronze Medal at the Pan American Games in Brazil, he failed to qualify his weight class internationally for the Beijing Olympic Games. Even though this was a great setback, he has learned much from his losses and feels these lessons will be instrumental in his preparation for the next Olympic Games in London, England.