CHENNAI: Former World Number 1 and squash coach David Palmer has said that he missed out on flying to India via Dubai because his flight got cancelled owing to the war between US-Israel and Iran.
He was supposed to travel from New York to Mumbai as his wards — Ramit Tandon and Veer Chotrani are slated to take part in the JSW Indian Open in Mumbai beginning on Wednesday. "Unfortunately, my trip got cancelled. I was supposed to be there, but my flight was through Dubai. And then to get another flight and ticket across wasn't possible. Everything is going pretty crazy with the prices. So, I was hoping to be there. I should have already been there. So, I'm obviously disappointed," he told this daily in a virtual interview.
Presently, operations at the Dubai International Airport is temporarily suspended due to a suspected drone attack near a fuel tank in the premises of the airport.
The nine-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, who is based in Cornell University in New York, said that he will remain in touch with both of his players. "I will be at home (in New York) watching the matches online on PSA squash TV. I'll be in close contact with Veer and Ramit before and after each match as well," he said.
The on-court coach for both of them in Mumbai, however, is yet to be decided. Fourth-seeded Chotrani will face the winner of Yannik Omlor and Yash Fadte in Round two. Third seeded Ramit, meanwhile will learn his opponent after the match between Ravindu Laksiri and Duncan Lee.
"I will talk about that with the guys. We'll see who's there. Sometimes they help each other a little bit as well. At the end of the day, it would be nice to be there. But obviously, before every tournament, when I'm not there at different tournaments, we talk the day before, we talk the hour before the match. Obviously, I'm looking at their opponents, studying them, giving tactics. So, we're in close contact. So, I'm not too worried that they'll be fine for this week," he said.