India’s wrestling gift to NZ Games team
‘‘I’d done all the homework and I couldn’t see anyway out that he wouldn’t be selected, there was no way.’’
It was an exercise in patience gaining citizenship but worldclass wrestler Akash Khullah’s efforts have paid off with a selection to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games.
With traditional Kiwi fare of hangi and boil-ups to keep him going, the Tawa Tigers Wrestling Club wrestler has begun an intense training program readying him to compete in the 74kg weight division.
Khullah, 25, won Gold at the Oceania Wrestling Championships in the 74kg Freestyle division last year after arriving in New Zealand from Punjab, India two years ago.
The process of applying for Khullah’s residency and citizenship had involved time and paperwork.
Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway wrote a letter in support of Khullah’s 2016 residency application.
Of the selection, Lees-Galloway said he was delighted for Akash and wished him all the best representing New Zealand.
‘‘While I can’t pretend to know much about wrestling, when I met with him I was satisfied that his contribution to the sport in New Zealand was significant enough to warrant his application.’’
Khullah’s fellow wrestlers had all been stoked with his selection and he was quick to acknowledge their support.
‘‘It’s not just me, it’s about the club,’’ he said.
‘‘We are like a family every day.’’
Khullah thinks Indian culture and New Zealand culture are not too dissimilar and notes New Zealand’s love of sports.
‘‘In New Zealand there is a big craze here for sport.’’
‘‘Most of my friends are Kiwis so we have lots of hangi’s and boilups,’’ he said.
Khullah received the exciting news last week and Tigers coach Scott Laurenson was the first to hear.
Laurenson said it was a great moment though he expected Akash to be selected.
‘‘I’d done all the homework and I couldn’t see anyway out that he wouldn’t be selected, there was no way.
‘‘I would have been very shocked and deflated if he hadn’t made it.’’
Laurenson said the selection process for the games involved a trip to South Africa last month to compete against other Commonwealth countries.
‘‘Not every country was there but we had to do qualification bouts and Akash did pretty well, although he was up against an exworld champion, and an Indian and Canadian champion.’’
Khullah said he was hoping for a medal at the games and was already looking forward to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.