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Emanuel Sandhu

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Emanuel Sandhu
Emanuel Sandhu competing at the 2004 Worlds.
Born (1980-11-18) November 18, 1980 (age 44)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Figure skating career
CountryCanada
CoachJoanne McLeod
Skating clubB.C. Centre of Excellence
Medal record
Figure skating: Men's singles
Representing  Canada
Four Continents Championships
Silver medal – second place 2004 Hamilton Men's singles
Grand Prix Final
Gold medal – first place 2003–04 Colorado Springs Men's singles

Emanuel Sandhu (born November 18, 1980) is a Canadian figure skater and dancer. He is the 2004 Grand Prix Final champion and a three-time Canadian national champion.

Personal life

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Sandhu was born on November 18, 1980, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[1] He was raised in Richmond Hill, Ontario, with his younger brothers Chris and Daniel. His father, Lokraj, is Indian Sikh and his mother, Enza, was born in Italy.[2] He is fluent in English, French, and Italian. Sandhu dabbles in modeling and singing[citation needed].

Career

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Skating

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Sandhu began figure skating at the age of eight. A year later, he was discovered by coach Joanne McLeod who would serve as his coach for his entire career. Sandhu later relocated to Burnaby, British Columbia, to continue training at the B.C. Centre of Excellence with McLeod, whom he credited as being his biggest support system.

He had early success in Canada, placing second in his first Canadian nationals.[3] Sandhu's success qualified him for the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, but the Canadian Olympic committee refused to send him because, while he met the criteria of the Canadian Figure Skating Association, he did not meet theirs. He had missed the Grand Prix season because of injury while Langdon did not.[4] Sandhu was a recipient of the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.[1]

Sandhu qualified for the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, but was forced to withdraw before the short program due to injury. He also withdrew from the World Championships that year. Sandhu's father had left the family years earlier, and Sandhu was reunited with him prior to the 2002 Olympic Games. Sandhu stated that he was almost relieved to have to withdraw with an injury, because it was difficult dealing with his father's return.

Sandhu was the Canadian Nationals Champion in 2001, 2003 and 2004, and he won the Grand Prix Final in 2004, his most successful season. In winning the Grand Prix Final, Sandhu beat reigning World Champion Evgeni Plushenko and is one of only two people (with Brian Joubert) to beat Plushenko in the 2002-2006 quadrennium. This win was even more notable because Sandhu was a substitute, not having medaled at his Grand Prix events that season. Sandhu went on to win his third Canadian title and to take the silver medal at the 2004 Four Continents, his highest placement at the event.

Despite his various victories, Sandhu was inconsistent at major events. He kept his eligibility following the 2006 Olympics season. He competed at Cup of China, where he won the bronze medal, and Cup of Russia, where he placed fifth. At the 2007 Nationals, he was unable to hold onto silver and dropped to third, his lowest placement at the senior level at Nationals. His season continued its downward trend as he placed ninth at the 2007 Four Continents. He placed 16th at the 2007 Worlds.

Sandhu making his comeback at the 2013 Canadian Figure Skating Championships

In 2011, Sandhu performed in the Art on Ice show in China.[5] He also registered to compete in a qualifying competition for the 2012 Canadian Nationals, his first competition since 2007.[6] He withdrew because of a foot injury and lack of preparation time due to ice shows.[7][8]

Sandhu returned to competition in December 2012 at the 2013 Skate Canada Challenge; he finished fifth, which qualified him for the 2013 Canadian Nationals.[9][10] Commenting on his decision to return to competition, Sandhu said, "I don't want the feeling I have when I look back on the sport to be one that isn't full of joy, happiness and satisfaction. I probably would think about it the rest of my life if I didn't try."[11][12] He trained without a coach in Burnaby, British Columbia.[13] Sandhu went on to finish 9th in the short program[13] and 11th overall at the 2013 Canadian Nationals.[14]

Dance

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Sandhu began studying ballet at the age of three and continued to dance until the end of high school. He graduated from The National Ballet School of Canada.

In May 2008, Sandhu auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, and qualified for the final audition round in Toronto. He succeeded past all but the final round of auditions and was cut when selections were made for the show's Top 20.

Sandhu again auditioned during the second season of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, but this time made it into the Top 20. He finished in the Top 6 as the third-ranked male dancer.

Programs

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Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2012–13
[13]
2006–07
[1]
  • Pantera en Liberta
    by Monica Naranjo
  • Mambo
    by Wanyne
  • When Strangers Meet
    by Sharov, Jiping
  • Legends
    by Chun Yi
  • Tabla Beat Science
    by Tala Matrix
2005–06
[15]
  • Original composition
    by Gordon Cobb
2004–05
[2][16]
  • Rise
    by Safri Duo
  • Xotica
    by Rene Dupere
  • Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-Minor
    by Emil von Sauer
2003–04
[17]
2002–03
[18]
  • Crazy Benny
    by Safri Duo
2001–02
[19]
  • A-Gusta
  • Crazy
  • Played-A-Live
    by Safri Duo
  • Piano Concerto 1
    by Edvard Grieg
  • Lamento d'Ariane
    by Jules Massenet
  • Piano Concerto 1 in C for Orchestra
    by Herbert Howells
2000–01
[20]
  • The Freedom Rider
    by A. Blakey
  • Back to the Apple
    by C. Basie
  • Journey of Man
    by Cirque de Soleil Orchestra
1998–2000
1997–98
[3]
  • Serenade for Strings
    by Pyotr Tchaikovsky

Competitive highlights

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GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International[21]
Event 97–98 98–99 99–00 00–01 01–02 02–03 03–04 04–05 05–06 06–07 12–13
Olympics WD 13th
Worlds 29th 18th 9th 8th 8th 7th 5th 16th
Four Continents 10th 13th 7th 5th 2nd 9th
GP Final 1st 4th 5th
GP Cup of China 5th 1st 3rd
GP Cup of Russia 5th
GP Lalique/Bompard 3rd 9th 3rd
GP NHK Trophy 6th
GP Skate America 4th 6th
GP Skate Canada 5th 2nd 4th 1st 1st
GP Sparkassen 8th 6th
Goodwill Games 8th
Nebelhorn Trophy 6th
Top Jump 2nd
Sears Open 5th 2nd
International: Junior[21]
Junior Worlds 11th
JGP France 4th
National[22]
Canadian Champ. 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 3rd 11th
WD: Withdrew

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Emanuel SANDHU: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 11, 2007.
  2. ^ a b Mittan, Barry (January 16, 2005). "Sandhu Looking for Fourth Title". Skate Today.
  3. ^ a b Mittan, J. Barry (1998). "Sandhu Combines Athleticism and Artistry". Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  4. ^ Malhotra, Ramesh (February 11, 2006). "NRI Sandhu, Skater made critical mistakes in his performance". NRI.
  5. ^ Wang, Fannie X.F. (December 1, 2011). "Emanuel Sandhu: "There's beauty in ugly and beauty in darkness."". Absolute Skating. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  6. ^ Kwong, PJ (November 8, 2011). "Sandhu making comeback". CBC Sports. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  7. ^ "Foot injury puts Sandhu's comeback on hold". CBC Sports. November 11, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  8. ^ "Emanuel Sandhu Withdraws". Skate Canada British Columbia/Yukon. November 10, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  9. ^ Slater, Craig (December 10, 2012). "Sandhu hot on comeback trail". Leader-Post.
  10. ^ "2013 Skate Canada Challenge Men's Results" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-12-24. Retrieved 2012-12-09.
  11. ^ Ewing, Lori (January 17, 2013). "Emanuel Sandhu's comeback is about rediscovering joy of figure skating". The Canadian Press. Global News. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  12. ^ Pyette, Ryan (January 17, 2013). "Emanuel Sandhu makes a comeback bid". QMI Agency. Toronto Sun.
  13. ^ a b c Ewing, Lori (January 18, 2013). "Comeback Trail: Emanuel Sandhu finishes ninth in men's short program". The Canadian Press. Leader Post. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.
  14. ^ Elfman, Lois (January 19, 2013). "Chan finds comfort zone in winning sixth in a row". IceNetwork.com.
  15. ^ "Emanuel SANDHU: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 2, 2006.
  16. ^ "Emanuel SANDHU: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 5, 2005.
  17. ^ "Emanuel SANDHU: 2003/2004". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004.
  18. ^ "Emanuel SANDHU: 2002/2003". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 15, 2003.
  19. ^ "Emanuel SANDHU: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 2, 2002.
  20. ^ "Emanuel SANDHU: 2000/2001". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 17, 2001.
  21. ^ a b "Competition Results: Emanuel SANDHU". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  22. ^ "Emanuel Sandhu". Skate Canada. Archived from the original on November 7, 2007.
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