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Indian Wrestlers Survived On Black Coffee & Slept On Floor After Dubai Airport Operations Were Halted Due To Floods

Amid the UAE's torrential rains and floods, two of India's top wrestlers were forced to spend two days at Dubai Airport.

by Sanjana Shenoy
Indian Wrestlers Survived On Black Coffee & Slept On Floor After Dubai Airport Operations Were Halted Due To Floods

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded the heaviest rains in years after a severe thunderstorm hit the nation on April 15. It led to severe waterlogging on roads, submerged vehicles, damaged homes and businesses and brought air travel to a standstill in Dubai. Amid the UAE’s torrential rains and floods, two of India’s top wrestlers were forced to spend two days at Dubai Airport. Here’s more to it.

Indian Wrestlers Stuck At Dubai Airport For 2 Days While Enroute To Tokyo Olympics Qualifiers

According to a report by The Times Of India, Deepak Punia, a Tokyo Olympian and CWG gold medallist and Sujeet Kalakal, both men’s freestyle wrestlers were forced to sleep on the airport floor at Dubai International Airport. Deepak (86 kg) and Sujeet Kalakal (65 kg) were training for men’s freestyle wrestling in Russia’s Dagestan from April 2 to 15 for the qualifiers. They were scheduled to fly from Makhachkala to Bishkek via Dubai for the Asian meet. This is the second-last qualifying meet for Paris.

 

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With their Russian coach Kamal Malikov and physio Shubham Gupta, Deepak Punia and Sujeet Kalakal reached Dubai Airport for their connecting flight to Kyrgyzstan capital, Bishkek. However, the wrestlers, their coach and their physio were forced to stay indoors with Dubai Airport coming to a standstill due to the rains and floods. The hailstorm hit UAE’s air operations were in disarray.

While they tried to look for accommodation near the airport, all hotels were fully booked due to cancelled flights. Moreover, there were no check-outs at hotels as tourists in Dubai had extended their stay due to the rains. They were in touch with the officials at the Consulate General of India in Dubai to arrange flights to Bishkek. A source stated to TOI that the wrestlers survived on large black coffees after they ran out of the food they carried with them as they were on a special diet for the Olympic qualifiers. The wrestlers were sleeping on the floor of the terminal during their stay at the airport.

Also Read: Dubai Bus, Tram, Taxi And Metro Services Resume, Take Note Of The Routes 

Indian Consulate Helped Them Reach Bishkek Amid Challenges

With the help of the Indian consulate, the Indian wrestlers could book a flight from Dubai to Bishkek. However, the source revealed their chance of performing to their optimum levels were unlikely. This is because the wrestlers would reach the Kyrgyzstan capital early on Friday morning. Then, they would rush for their weigh-in at 8 am local time. Their competitions are scheduled later on the same day.
However, as per The Indian Express report, they weren’t allowed to participate as they arrived late due to the flight delay in Dubai. Now, they have just one more chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

We wish the Indian wrestlers the very best! And we sincerely hope they are able to perform to the best of their capabilities despite the challenges they faced at Dubai Airport.
Cover Image Courtesy: puniadeepakoffical/ Instagram and Canva Pro
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