Canadian wrestling team set for U20 world championships

Wrestlers, coaches, & staff will compete against the world in Jordan

Wrestling Canada Lutte (WCL) is proud to announce the athletes, coaching staff, and team officials that will represent Canada at the U20 World Championships, set for August 14-20 in Amman City, Jordan.

Note, this story was submitted by Wrestling Canada.

In total, seven of the ten Canadian athletes at the World Championships won medals at the 2023 Pan-American (Pan-Am) Championships, held July 6-8 in Santiago, Chile.

“Following an outstanding showing at the U20 Pan-American Championships, WCL is sending 10 athletes to compete at the World U20 Championships,” said Chris Woodcroft, WCL High-Performance Director. “With seven of our ten athletes coming off medal-winning performances from the Pan-Ams, including Pan-American champion Karanveer Mahil, the U20 World Championships will be a tremendous test for our team competing against the best in the world. This competition provides a valuable stepping stone prior to these young athletes making the jump to the senior level.”

At the Pan-Ams, the story belonged to Mississauga’s Mahil. The Hamilton Wrestling Club member had a great tournament culminating with a gold medal in the men’s 125kg weight class. Mahil, who also represented Canada at the Senior Pan-Am Championships this year, will now look to take those experiences to the world stage and capture another medal.

The men’s team will also see a trio of silver medalists from the U20 Pan-Ams look to earn another international medal. The group includes Winnipeg’s Sam Pereira at 92kg, Winnipeg’s Connor Church at 79kg, and Mount Hope, Ontario’s Amaan Gulacha at 74kg.

On the women’s side, there will be three Pan-Am medalists looking to add to their collections at the U20 Worlds. Saskatoon’s Myah Phillips and Port Alberni, British Columbia’s Paige Maher each captured silver earlier this year with strong performances at the Pan-Ams. Stoney Creek, Ontario’s Serena Di Benedetto also comes into the event having won a bronze at the Pan-Ams.

2023 (U20) World Championships Team

Weight Class Name Hometown Club

WW 50kg DI BENEDETTO, Serena Stoney Creek, ON Hamilton WC

WW 55kg BECHARD, Sophia Montreal, QC Montreal - NTC

WW 57kg CROSS, Gabriela Port Coquitlam, BC Dinos WC

WW 59kg CLATNEY, Caitlin Saskatoon, SK Saskatoon WC

WW 72kg MAHER, Paige Port Alberni, BC Burnaby Mountain WC

WW 76kg PHILLIPS, Myah Saskatoon, SK Saskatoon WC

FS 74kg GULACHA, Amaan Mount Hope, ON Brock WC

FS 79kg CHURCH, Connor Winnipeg, MB Montreal - NTC

FS 92kg PEREIRA, Sam Winnipeg, MB Burnaby Mountain WC

FS 125kg MAHIL, Karanveer Mississauga, ON Hamilton WC

Accompanying the team are the coaching staff and team officials. The group includes David Zilberman, Ahmed Shamiya, Sergey Beloglazov, Shane Bradley, and Teresa Budwal. Curtis Leung will also represent Canada as an official.

For complete tournament information, visit the tournament website here.

About Wrestling Canada Lutte (WCL)

Wrestling Canada Lutte (WCL) is the national sport governing body for Olympic style wrestling in Canada. Among its responsibilities, the association selects and prepares Canada’s teams that participate in international competitions including Continental Championships, World Championships and major multi-sport Games (i.e. Olympic Games). WCL works with provincial and territorial partners to deliver world-class programs and services to athletes, coaches, and officials to achieve podium success and grow the sport.

---

About this story: sportsguysean’s Hat Trick on Substack accepts submitted posts. Thank you to Wrestling Canada for sharing this story.

If you have a story you’d like to see published on this website, please contact me.