PV Sindhu Reveals Return Date After Missing All England And Swiss Open Due To Conflict

Last Updated:March 17, 2026, 19:55 IST

PV Sindhu, two-time Olympic medalist, missed the All England and Swiss Open due to the West Asia conflict. She aims to return at the Asian Championships in April.

PV Sindhu, the two-time Olympic medalist, expressed her concerns over the ongoing West Asia conflict, hoping for a resolution soon. She also discussed her aim to return to competition at the Asian Championships in April, having missed the All England and Swiss Open tournaments due to the conflict’s impact on global airspace.

Reflecting on her experience of being stranded in Dubai last month en route to the All England Open in Birmingham, Sindhu said, “Getting stuck there, I think it was unfortunate. I mean, I could not do anything, and I am sure you all know I put it out on social media as well. Hopefully, I was safe and came back home safely. But I think it is definitely very stressful. And missing out on tournaments… I mean, it is so unfortunate. Everything was good; we started off well, and once we landed, it was like everything was chaos and everything had to shut."

Due to the conflict’s impact on airspace and global movement, Sindhu missed the prestigious All England Open from March 3 to 8 and the Swiss Open from March 10 to 15. She had initially planned her return during a press conference organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) earlier in March.

Sindhu Recalls Conflict

Sindhu was on her way to the All England Open in Birmingham but got stuck in Dubai.

Recalling the conflict, Sindhu shared that her coach, who was a few hundred meters away from her, heard a “big sound," leading them to decide to skip the tournament. She emphasised that while missing the tournament was sad, her life was her “main priority."

“After staying like three days in Dubai, I thought, you know, at most, priority is life comes first. And that’s how I decided to come back. And even for the Swiss Open, almost all the flights were getting cancelled, and it was such a hassle. And I was also not in that space of mind of ‘what is going to happen’ because I had seen it with my eyes, and it was horrible. Like, you know, it was pretty bad. And my coach was like… just 100 meters away there was debris or whatever, he could hear a big sound. And that impacted him like really very much, and they all had to come out," she explained.

Sindhu expressed her concern over the worsening situation but remained hopeful for a resolution. “So, it is so sad that it is happening, but at the same time, I hope things will be fine soon. But at the same time, just worried that, seeing the situation, it is getting worse and worse. Life comes first, and that is the main priority. At the end of the day, you have to be safe, and everything should be fine. A lot of people are losing their lives, and we feel sad about it. I hope things will resolve soon and come back to normal," she concluded.

Sindhu aims to return to competition at the Asian Championships in China starting April 7. “Next (target) would be Asian Championships. That is, I think, in about two weeks from now, and that will be in China. So I hope by then the flights and everything will be fine. Hoping for the best, but yeah, that will be the next," she added.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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