It did not take Connor Evans long to get to grips with wrestling. He was hooked the moment he went along to his first session at the age of seven.

Now 15, he has competed all over Europe and is a member of the Scotland team for the Commonwealth Youth Games in India in October.

If all goes to plan, he will be competing closer to home in six years team when Glasgow hosts the full Commonwealth Games.

That would be quite a journey for someone who only chanced upon the sport.

“When I was younger I was always playing on my Playstation and my mum wanted me to do something to get a bit of exercise,” he recalls.

“I saw an advert in the local newspaper about a wrestling club. I had enjoyed watching WWE on television but I soon found out it was totally different to that.

“I liked it immediately and have been doing it ever since.

 “I used to kick a ball about the streets with my pals but, apart from that, I wasn’t doing much in the way of sport.

“Wrestling’s a bit of a change from football and I suppose some people see it as an unusual sport to take up, but my pals have been really supportive and are always asking how I’m doing in competition.

“When I was younger I had problems at school as my hand-eye coordination was not good but I’ve found that wrestling has really helped that.

“I’m now training five or six days a week for a couple of hours a day and don’t have time for any other sports.”

Coached by Steven McKeown and David Connelly at the Tryst club in Cumbernauld, Evans is in good hands.

Connelly won a bronze medal the last time the Commonwealth Games were held in Scotland  - in Edinburgh in 1986 – and knows what level his protégé must reach.

Evans is one of four wrestlers in the Scottish team for Pune (Gareth Jones, Keiran Malone and Craig McKenna complete the quartet) and Ukrainian coach Volodymyr Gladkow, who has coached the Russian team in the past, is also making the trip.

“I’ve only really worked with the Ukrainian coach over the past year but it has helped me,” continues Evans.

“The sport is particularly strong in Eastern Europe – in the likes of Russia or Georgia - and it can only help us having someone from his background.

“I’ve been abroad about ten times with the sport and I won an event in Finland where I was the only member of the Great Britain development team to win a gold.”

Evans is British champion at Under-67kg even though he qualifies for the Under-63kg weight category.

He has access to the West Institute of Sport which can help him with such things as physiotherapy and diet and he knows he has a proper sporting back-up to support his ambitions.

“I have to watch my weight when it comes close to competition and need to cut out sweets and keep a close watch on my diet,” he points out.

“Going to India will be something new for me but it’ll be a great experience taking part in a multi-sport event.

“I’m really looking forward to Glasgow 2014 and hopefully I’ll be able to compete there. After that, I don’t know – I’m not looking any further than that at this stage.”
 
RM
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