US-Iran war: PV Sindhu stranded in Dubai, close call for coach at airport; shuttler recalls ‘extremely tense’ ordeal

Indian badminton player and double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu on Sunday recounted a "extremely tense" experience at Dubai International Airport. The athlete and her Indonesian coach found themselves stranded as an explosion erupted near their location, occurring amid the rapidly intensifying hostilities across the Gulf.

This disruption is a direct result of the major military offensive launched against Iran by the United States and Israel, which triggered a series of retaliatory missile strikes throughout the Gulf region, including within the United Arab Emirates. These volatile conditions have compelled numerous airlines to either cancel or redirect their flight paths.

Sindhu, who is slated to participate in the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham beginning 3 March, has remained stuck in Dubai since Saturday. Her journey was halted after flight services were frozen due to airspace shutdowns following the regional missile activity.

‘The last few hours have been extremely tense’

In a video, PV Sindhu said: “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.”

“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,” said Sindhu.

Irwansyah Adi Pratama, Sindhu’s coach, corroborated the incident while speaking to news agency PTI and described it as a close brush with danger.

"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 said.

“Experiencing something like this in such close quarters truly shakes you. You never expect these things to happen to you or anyone close to you, but sometimes situations are beyond your control. I feel incredibly blessed to have such a strong and united team around me. Everyone stayed calm, supported one another and showed real strength during a very frightening situation,” Sindhu also said.

Meanwhile, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) stated it is actively tracking these travel hurdles in tandem with Badminton England and various national bodies.

"The safety and wellbeing of all athletes, officials and support personnel remain our highest priority," BWF said.

It was reviewing potential contingencies within the competition schedule should players face delayed arrivals, the Federation said.