Imran Akhtar
Wrestling (2003)

Imran was an outstanding athlete at the University of Saskatchewan, winning medals four times at the Canada West championship, winning silver and being voted All-Canadian at the 1992 CIAU finals and carrying Canadian colors into international meets nine times.

Imran was born in Saskatoon in 1968, enjoying soccer, tennis, badminton and track and field as a boy.

He chose to enter wrestling as a Grade 10 student at Evan Hardy Collegiate, was an immediate hit by winning the rookie championship, won other important meets and ruled as city high school champion in 1986, his graduating year.

He also competed for the Saskatoon Wrestling Club, where he won more awards, all in the process of winning nine provincial championships, the first in 1983 and the last in 1992.

Imran joined the University of Saskatchewan wrestling team in 1987, where he competed in free style and at 52 kilograms, and that opened many competitive doors for him. At the Canada West championships, he won a bronze medal in 1987, a silver in 1989, bronze again in 1991 and capped off his career in the west by winning gold in 1992 a well as being voted an all-star and the most outstanding wrestler of the tournament.

Imran won a number of open and invitational meets while with the Huskies and his biggest moment at the CIAU finals came in 1992 when he won a silver medal and was voted All-Canadian. His coach during university years was Shane Bradley and they shared the joy when Imran was voted winner of the E. Kent Phillips trophy as the university's athlete of the year in 1992.

One of the favorite stopping places was Concord, California, where Imran twice competed against strong international fields. He finished sixth in 1990, and then a year later, he finished seventh.

Imran also competed twice at the Pan-American wrestling championships, finishing sixth in 1990 and fourth in the 1992 tournament.

He quit competitive wrestling after the 1992 season and the trophies demonstrate the successes, some in Greco-Roman style where he was Canadian champion four times. Imran was always eager to share his knowledge, from the early days at a Canada wrestling camp, to assistant coach with the Saskatoon Wrestling Club, volunteer coach at Evan Hardy and then as provincial technical director with the Saskatchewan Amateur Wrestling Association.