India’s Deepak Punia (in picture) and Sujeet Kalkal were not allowed to take part in the Asian Olympic Qualifier. (File)
Deepak Punia, who narrowly missed out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, saw his Paris Games ambitions take a big hit after he and fellow wrestler Sujeet Kalkal were not allowed to take part in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers on Friday.
It is learnt that the duo, who were stuck at Dubai airport since Tuesday, reached Bishkek, the host city, shortly after 8 am on Friday morning. By then, the weigh-in, where wrestlers have to record their body weights and show they meet the criteria, had already begun and the organisers refused to allow them.
Although they pleaded their case, the organisers did not make any exemptions.
Punia and Kalkal now have just one more chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics – at the World Qualifiers next month.
The wrestlers, along with their coach Kamal Malikov and physio Shubham Gupta, were stranded at the Dubai International Airport since Tuesday owing to the record rainfall that’s led to floods and caused disruption.
Kalkal’s father Dayanand had said on Thursday that he was ‘worried for their well-being’ as they were sleeping on the floor of the airport and did not get proper food.
India’s qualification campaign begins on Friday with men’s freestyle bouts set to take place later in the day. In the absence of Punia, young 57kg category star Aman Sehrawat will lead the men’s team.
While the other Indian wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat who will compete on Saturday, left for Bishkek directly from Delhi, Punia and Kalkal were travelling by themselves. The duo was training in Dagestan, Russia, from April 2 to 15. On April 16, they took a flight from Makachkala to Bishkek via Dubai, which was booked by the WFI.
Operations at the Dubai airport, however, have been severely disrupted due to the heavy rains, which have battered the Emirates. According to the UAE government, the country received its highest rainfall in 75 years as up to 259.5 mm of rain fell on Tuesday.
According to the BBC, around 300 flights have been cancelled so far and hundreds more have been delayed.
Punia, who narrowly missed out on a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, is one of India’s main medal contenders for the Paris Olympics. This was the first major tournament for Kalkal, who made the cut in a weight class in which Bajrang Punia won a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.
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