Flight Delay Resulted In Missing Olympic Qualifiers: Deepak Punia and Suljeet Lost Opportunity
Deepak Punia who was too close to almost winning a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, faces another setback in the Paris Games because Deepak and his fellow wrestler Suljit could not compete in the Asian Olympics on Friday because their flight was delayed. Deepak Punia and Suljeet Kalkal are very important athletes for India in the Asian Olympics. Deepak and Suljeet were in Dagestan, Russia for their training session and their route to reach Bashkek was via Dubai. Due to heavy rain, Dubai airport was flooded because of this both the wrestlers had to suffer the consequences.
On Tuesday both the wrestlers were stuck at Dubai Airport. Soon they reached the host city of the Asian Olympics Bishkek on Friday morning after around 8 AM. The organizers of the Asian Olympics denied Deepak and Suljeet’s entry because the process of checking wrestlers’ eligibility criteria and recording their body weights had already started.
Despite so many requests from the wrestler’s side, the organizers did not allow them.
Next month at the World Qualifiers both the Indian Wrestlers Deepak Punia and Suljeet Kalkal will get their last and final chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
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Problems Faced By Deepak and Suljeet at the Airport
While Deepak and Suljeet were stuck at the Dubai airport due to very heavy rain, not only did they miss the opportunity to qualify for the Asian Olympics but they also suffered a lot at the airport. They struggled a lot to sleep and according to Suljeet’s father, they slept on floors. There was very limited food. Suljeet’s father Dayanand expressing his concern said, “ They were stuck at Dubai Airport since April 16 and their chance for qualifying for the Paris Olympics is slipping out of their hands as they are to compete tomorrow. They are not getting any flights to Bishkek.”
Other Indian wrestlers including Vinesh Phogat who will compete on 20 April 2024 have left Bishkek directly from Delhi. Deepak Punia and Suljeet Kalkal are major rivals of India for Paris Olympics
Dubai Going Through Highest Rainfall
As per the UAE government, the country is witnessing the highest rainfall ever in the last 75 years as on Tuesday the rain fell up to 259.5mm. Around 100 flights from Dubai have been delayed and 300 flights have been cancelled.
