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March 19, 2009 - Palanis pin competition
Aso and Seveh Palani are making wrestling a family sport one headlock at a time.
Seveh and her brother each put in gold-medal performances at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) Championships held in Hampton Virginia March 13-15. Aso, 22, dominated his competition in the men’s 125lb-weight class, with five wins and no losses. Seveh, 19, came out on top in the women’s 112lb-weight class, with three wins and no losses. The Palanis were representing the Douglas College wrestling team.
“Performing well at a tournament like the NCWA gives us a huge amount of momentum going into the Canadian National Championships this weekend in Regina. It’s a huge mental breakthrough,” says Coach Steve Rose.
“It was nerve-wracking, but it does give me some confidence for the nationals, which will be 10 times harder,” says Seveh, who was a returning champion at the NCWA.
While brothers often perform well as teammates in wrestling, it’s less common to see male and female siblings on the circuit, says Rose. Even more unique, says their coach, is that the Palanis are Kurdish.
“You don’t see many Muslim girls wrestling. The numbers are pretty slim,” Seveh agrees.
She and Aso, both General Studies students at Douglas College, have a younger brother Zanah who is a member of the wrestling team at Guildford Park Secondary School, where Seveh also helps coach the girls’ team.
“Aso definitely helps to push and support me. It’s one of the main advantages of being on the team together,” says Seveh.
Seveh and Aso compete March 19-22 in the Junior and Senior National Championships respectively.
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Seveh and her brother each put in gold-medal performances at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) Championships held in Hampton Virginia March 13-15. Aso, 22, dominated his competition in the men’s 125lb-weight class, with five wins and no losses. Seveh, 19, came out on top in the women’s 112lb-weight class, with three wins and no losses. The Palanis were representing the Douglas College wrestling team.
“Performing well at a tournament like the NCWA gives us a huge amount of momentum going into the Canadian National Championships this weekend in Regina. It’s a huge mental breakthrough,” says Coach Steve Rose.
“It was nerve-wracking, but it does give me some confidence for the nationals, which will be 10 times harder,” says Seveh, who was a returning champion at the NCWA.
While brothers often perform well as teammates in wrestling, it’s less common to see male and female siblings on the circuit, says Rose. Even more unique, says their coach, is that the Palanis are Kurdish.
“You don’t see many Muslim girls wrestling. The numbers are pretty slim,” Seveh agrees.
She and Aso, both General Studies students at Douglas College, have a younger brother Zanah who is a member of the wrestling team at Guildford Park Secondary School, where Seveh also helps coach the girls’ team.
“Aso definitely helps to push and support me. It’s one of the main advantages of being on the team together,” says Seveh.
Seveh and Aso compete March 19-22 in the Junior and Senior National Championships respectively.
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