Deepak, Sujeet stuck in Dubai ahead of Olympic qualifiers

NEW DELHI: Wrestlers

Deepak Punia and Sujeet Kalkal are stranded at Dubai International Airport owing to a spate of flight cancellations triggered by unprecedented rains in the Emirates. The situation has put the duo’s participation in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in serious jeopardy.

The wrestlers, along with Punia’s coach Kamal Malikov and physiotherapist Shubham Gupta, arrived in Dubai from Dagestan in Russia — where they had a two-week training stint starting April 2 — on Tuesday evening to board their flight to Bishkek. Punia competes in the 86kg class while Sujeet fights in 65kg category.

“Both wrestlers were in great spirits in Russia and were confident of winning a quota. It’s really unfortunate that they are in such a mess. They were raring to go to Bishkek,” Dayanand Kalkal, Sujeet’s father and coach, said.

However, their flight, scheduled at around 10:30pm local time, was cancelled, forcing the group to spend the night at the terminal. The airline booked them on the same flight the next day, but that too got cancelled.

“It’s a terrible situation. They are sleeping on the floor. Their diet has gone haywire. They haven’t trained for two days. Imagine their mental state at the moment,” said Dayanand Kalkal, Sujeet’s father and coach.

The wrestlers, both vegetarians, are surviving on sandwiches and slices of bread. “They are eating just enough to quell their hunger. Too much of carbohydrate is not ideal for them since they need to watch their weights too,” coach Lalit Kumar, who trains Punia at Delhi’s Chhatrasal Stadium, said.