CHENNAI: Women's wrestling team head coach Virender Dahiya said all his wards are safe and have been shifted to a hotel near Tirana airport in Albania. As many as 16 wrestlers along with the support staff including Dahiya reached the country to compete in the second Ranking Series that began on February 25.
They were scheduled to fly back to India on Sunday morning via Dubai but their flight got cancelled due to US-Israel attacks on Iran. The men's freestyle team returned to the country as their competition got over a couple of days ago. The bouts for men's Greco-Roman wrestlers are underway and even they might have to change their itinerary given the global crisis.
"We are safe here and have been shifted to a good hotel near the airport," Dahiya told The New Indian Express from Tirana. The coach said the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Kumar Singh, former chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and other office-bearers spoke to him and the wrestlers and assured them of every possible help.
"Brij Bhushan sir even transferred Rs 4 lakh to my account so that we can pay for accommodation, food and other necessary stuff here in Albania. All of them personally spoke to us and assured us all the help we needed. The federation is trying to arrange an alternative flight for us through a different route," the coach added.
India women won three silver medals and two bronze in the competition. Priyanshi Prajapat (50kg), Meenakshi (53kg) and Neha (57kg) finished second in their respective weight categories while Muskan (50kg) and Savita (62kg) returned with a bronze each. Earlier, Sujeet Kalkal clinched the gold medal in the 65kg weight category.
The wrestlers were provided accommodation by the organisers but had to vacate their rooms by 11AM local time on Sunday. The coach communicated the same to the WFI following which the federation arranged accommodation for them.
The wrestlers are alone to get stranded due to the global crisis as two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu also got stuck at the Dubai International Airport since Saturday. She was supposed to board a flight for Birmingham to take part in the All England Championships scheduled from March 3 to 8 but has been stuck at the airport along with her team members — coach, training, physio et all, just waiting to get out of this tense situation.
The closure of airspace over gulf has forced the Badminton Association of India (BAI) to change travel plans for other shuttlers as well. They were supposed to leave for England later than Sindhu. The BAI, along with the help of Sports Authority of India, has informed that some of the shuttlers are now leaving via airports in Africa and Singapore.
