‘Back home in Bangalore’: PV Sindhu returns from Dubai, says she is ‘safe’ as she exits Middle East war zone

Indian badminton champ and double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu returned to her home in Bengaluru days after being stranded in Dubai. She missed the All England Open Badminton Championships 2026 in Birmingham, scheduled for 3 March, following flight cancellations across the Middle East.

PV Sindhu returns home in Bengaluru

After reaching India, Sindhu shared an update on social media and thanked the Dubai authorities. On X, she wrote, “Back home in Bangalore and safe.”

Sindhu had been regularly sharing updates from Dubai as flights remained suspended following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent retaliation.

Recalling the last few days, she described them as "intense" in her new post.

“The last few days have been intense and uncertain, but I’m truly grateful to be back to my house. A heartfelt thank you to the incredible ground teams, Dubai authorities, airport staff, immigration, and every single person who stepped up and took such good care of us during a very difficult time. The empathy and professionalism meant more than words can say,” she shared.

She concluded her post: “For now, it’s time to rest, reset, and figure out the next steps.”

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Why was PV Sindhu in Dubai?

Sindhu was transiting through Dubai en route to Birmingham, UK, to compete in the All England Championships 2026. She became stranded at Dubai Airport after Gulf airspace was shut down following the US-Israel strikes on Iran and subsequent retaliation. Sindu shared a video message describing the chaos at the airport.

Sindhu and her team, including coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama, had a narrow escape following an explosion near their stay. Later, she was moved to a safer place.

Sharing details, she had previously said in a video message, "Hi everyone, I wanted to share a quick update and firstly thank you all who have been reaching out and checking on us. I was transiting from Bengaluru, where I train and live full-time now, to Birmingham in the UK to compete in the All England Championships. Once our flight landed in Dubai, events beyond our control began to unfold and shortly after, the airspace was shut down.”

Dubai airport explosion

“The last few hours have been extremely tense. We could hear the sounds of interceptions overhead and a few hours later there was an explosion very close to where we were holed up at Dubai airport. My coach was barely about 100 metres away from where it happened and had to quickly move out of the area,” Sindhu revealed.

PV Sindhu’s coach also opened up about the explosion.

"There was an explosion in airport, so we are stuck here at the moment. They have put us in the hotel, we are okay but again there is a little bit of worry at the same time. We want to go to All England. I hope we can fly out today because Sindhu's match is on Wednesday," Irwansyah told PTI.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) shared a statement: “The safety and wellbeing of all athletes, officials and support personnel remain our highest priority.”

Reportedly, Sindhu even contemplated travelling to Oman by road for the opening round. Former India coach Vimal Kumar told PTI, “I have spoken to Sindhu this evening and she was really disappointed. She has resigned herself to her fate that she won't be able to make it.”