BAKU, AZERBAIJAN — Canadian wrestlers competed in Baku, Azerbaijan, from July 29 to Aug. 2 at the 2026 U17 World Championships. The event provided Canada’s next generation of wrestlers with an opportunity to test themselves against the world’s best.

Women’s Results

Canada earned a pair of fifth-place finishes on the women’s side from Calgary’s Maya Naicker and Surrey, British Columbia’s Gurleen Dhillon.

Naicker, from Alberta Elite Women’s WC, recorded wins over opponents from Belarus and Ukraine in the 43kg weight class before falling to Uzbekistan in the semifinals. In the bronze medal match, she dropped a tightly contested 10-10 decision to Japan on criteria.

Dhillon, from Canadian Mal WC, earned victories over Georgia, Moldova and Hungary to advance to the semifinals before falling to the United States. She also faced Japan in the bronze medal match but came up short.

Other Canadian women’s results included Amherstview, Ontario’s Annie Niemann 13^th at 65kg; Brampton, Ontario’s Asees Bains 14^th at 73kg; Richmond, British Columbia’s Isabelle Chen 18^th at 49kg; Surrey’s Khushleen Jhalli 18^th at 69kg; and Williams Lake, British Columbia’s Kai Pare 22^nd at 61kg.

Men’s Results

The top Canadian on the men’s side was Saskatoon’s Tyler Langford, who finished seventh at 92kg. Langford earned victories over Hungary and Hong Kong before losing to India in the quarterfinals.

The remaining Canadian men’s results were Kitchener, Ontario’s Jude Garrucho 16^th at 45kg; Surrey’s Uday Billen 19^th at 110kg; Surrey’s Guarav Bahi 22^nd at 51kg; Vancouver’s Mustafa Fahel 24^th at 60kg; and Neebing, Ontario’s Koen Hurlbert 24^th at 80kg.