Entering 2026-27 season
Decorated wrestler Nishan Randhawa became the head coach of SFU Women's Wrestling on July 15, 2026.
He competed for SFU from 2015 to 2020 and graduated with a Criminology degree in 2021. He has been representing Canada on the international stage for more than a decade.
A disciplined athlete with an excellent work ethic, he has used the knowledge gained through a global career to help SFU wrestlers reach their goals. Randhawa has been coaching with the Red Leafs wrestling program for the last two seasons. He was the lead assistant coach last season and spent the 2024-25 campaign as a volunteer assistant coach.
"It is an honour to be named the head coach of the Simon Fraser University women's wrestling program," said Randhawa. "SFU has shaped who I am, both as an athlete and as a person, and I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to a program that has such a proud tradition of excellence. I am excited to begin this next chapter and help guide the next generation of student-athletes as they pursue their goals.
"My vision is to build a culture where athletes are challenged to reach their full potential while feeling supported every step of the way. I want every wrestler who joins this program to leave not only as a better competitor, but as a stronger, more confident individual. I am proud to lead this program and look forward to building on its legacy."
Randhawa is a seven-time senior national champion and has represented Canada at four senior World Wrestling Championships, three under-23 world tournaments and three junior world meets.
Wrestling in the 97-kilogram weight class, He won the gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, and the bronze at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
The wrestler from Abbotsford, B.C., also captured bronze at the 2025 Pan American Championships in Monterrey, Mexico.
In 2015, Randhawa won the 96-kg bronze medal at the World Junior Wrestling Championships in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.
Since 2015, Randhawa has also been serving as a volunteer coach with the Guru Gobind Singh Wrestling Club in his hometown, preparing athletes with well-coordinated schedules of practices and individual training. His range of work also included analyzing match video to tailor strategies, guiding athlete nutritional plans and running drills to improve coordination and skills development.
"Nishan and (new Mentor Coach) Gord (Sturrock) bring a rare combination of elite competitive experience and deep coaching expertise to our Women's Wrestling program," said Breanne Watson, SFU Director, Athletics & Business Operations. "Nishan's success on the international stage speaks for itself, and in his recent work as an assistant coach with the Red Leafs, he has already shown he can translate that into results for our athletes. Pairing him with Gord's decades of coaching, teaching, and program-building experience gives our student-athletes exceptional support as we head into the 2026-27 season. We're confident this leadership team will continue to elevate the women's program."
