2024-04-22 04:22:56
New Delhi: Deepak Punia, who missed a medal in the Tokyo Olympics, is among India’s hopes in the Paris Olympics. However, his Olympic dream seems to be facing a major setback. In fact, according to a report, he and fellow wrestler Sujit Kalkal were not allowed to participate in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers on Friday. It is learned that both these wrestlers, who were stuck at Dubai Airport since Tuesday, reached the host city Bishkek after 8 am on Friday. By then, the weigh-in process had begun, in which wrestlers have to register their weight and show that they meet the criteria.
When the Indian wrestlers arrived, the organizers refused to allow them. He told that this happened due to floods in Dubai, but the organizers have not given any relaxation yet. Punia and Kalkal now have their last chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics, followed by the World Qualifiers to be held next month.
The wrestler along with his coach Kamal Malikov and physio Shubham Gupta were stranded at the Dubai International Airport since Tuesday as heavy rains led to floods and brought everything to a halt. Kalkal’s father Dayanand had said on Thursday that he was ‘worried about his health’ as he was sleeping on the floor at the airport and was not even getting proper food. India’s qualification campaign will start from today. In this, men’s freestyle matches will be played later. In Punia’s absence, young star of 57 kg category Aman Sehrawat will lead the men’s team.
Other Indian wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat, have left for Bishkek directly from Delhi, while Punia and Kalkal were traveling alone. Both were training in Dagestan, Russia from 2 to 15 April. On 16 April he flew from Makhachkala to Bishkek via Dubai, which was booked by WFI. However, operations at Dubai Airport have been severely affected due to heavy rains. According to the UAE government, the country has received the highest rainfall in 75 years. There was 259.5 mm rainfall on Tuesday. According to the BBC, around 300 flights have been canceled so far and hundreds were delayed.
Indian wrestling team
- Men’s Greco-Roman: Sumit (60kg), Ashu (67kg), Vikas (77kg), Sunil (87kg), Nitesh (97kg), Naveen (130kg)
- Women’s Freestyle: Vinesh Phogat (50kg), Anshu Malik (57kg), Mansi (62kg), Nisha (68kg), Ritika Hooda (76kg)
- Men’s Freestyle: Aman Sehrawat (57 kg), Sujeet (65 kg), Jaideep (74 kg), Deepak Punia (86 kg), Deepak (97 kg), Sumit (125 kg)