TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Wrestling club TOROTech's class remained in session Tuesday night, but one long-time wrestler was missing: 19-year-old Minhaj Jamshidi, who was shot and killed Sunday night on the University of Arizona campus.
“Something like this is felt deeply because next summer he's not going to be around," Coach Anthony Birchak said. “It's just a feeling of emptiness. That's it.”
Birchak brought Jamshidi in to his wrestling club two years ago, after meeting him and two other Afghan refugees at the sauna.
"I noticed that a couple of these kids had cauliflower here and I was like, 'Hey, do you do jiu-jitsu or do you wrestle?' And, they said, 'we wrestle, we're from Afghanistan. We do freestyle.' So, I said, 'Awesome. I have a wrestling club.'" Birchak recalled.
Birchak said, he invited them to train at his gym 10th Planet, and they showed up with their aunts, uncles and other older Afghani refugees that love wrestling.
“They told me stories of the Taliban coming to wrestling tournaments and shooting guns in the air to, you know, clear out the building and stuff like that," Birchak said. "You're in war-torn Afghanistan. The Taliban controls everything. You leave that country only to come here and get shot playing volleyball.”
Now, Birchak has lost a student, who he said, competed in wrestling tournaments every chance he could.
“He was so scrappy, so tenacious," Birchak said.
Jamshidi competed in the same weight class as 16-year-old Christian Marsh, who has been wrestling for four years.
“Me and him would always just like, go at it and, like, get a good sweat going," Marsh said.
Marsh found out the news about Jamshidi Tuesday night during class.
“It's hard to believe people are here and then they're gone the next second," Marsh said. "Like, I'm never gonna see him again."
Birchak recalled a fond memory during one of Jamshidi's competitions.
“I had gotten into it with one of the referees and he grabbed me by my shoulders, 'Coach, let's take a walk, let's take a walk,'" Birchak said. "And, you know, he was just so caring man."
Marsh, who once competed in a tournament with Jamshidi, recalled a similar sentiment.
“He's a really kind, kind person. He's really talkative. He's always willing to, like, help me out, talk about whatever. He had a really good heart," Marsh said.
His heart left a lasting impact both on and off the mat.
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Maria Staubs is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Maria by emailing maria.staubs@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
