Deepak Punia and Sujeet Kalkal to miss Olympic Qualifiers after flight delay sees them arrive late in Bishkek
Indian wrestlers Deepak Punia and Sujeet Kalkal are set to miss the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
With weigh-ins for their categories (65kg for Kalkal and 86 kg for Punia) scheduled to take place early on Friday, April 19, the pair reportedly reached the host city shortly after 8 am the same day. However, by the time they reached the venue, the weigh-ins had already begun and the organisers refused to allow them, according to PTI.
This comes as a big blow, especially for Punia, who narrowly missed out on a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games. He is expected to be one of India’s main medal contenders for the Paris Olympics.
It was recently reported that Punia and Sujeet, who were accompanied by Russian coach Kamal Malikov and physio Shubham Gupta, had been stranded at the Dubai airport since Tuesday as flights were cancelled owing to bad weather in Dubai.
Sujeet’s father Dayanand Kalakal had shed light on their situation, stating that he was worried about their well-being and their chances of participating in the qualifiers.
"They were stuck at the Dubai airport since April 16 and it seems the chance of qualifying for Paris Olympics is slipping out of their hands as they are scheduled to compete tomorrow. They are not getting any flights to Bishkek. I am worried about them," he told PTI.
While the rest of the Indian contingent, including Asian Games and Commonwealth Games medallist Vinesh Phogat, travelled to Bishkek from India, Punia and Kalkal had to make separate plans as they were training in Dagestan, Russia, from April 2 and 15.
India’s qualification campaign in Bishkek gets underway on Friday, with Aman Sehrawat (57kg) set to lead the Indian men's team in the absence of Punia.
Meanwhile, Deepak Punia and Sujeet Kalkal's final chance to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics will be at the World Olympic Games Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkey, between May 9 and 12.