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4 min readNew DelhiMar 3, 2026 10:36 PM IST
Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu had to miss out on All England Championships after being stuck in Dubai due to Middle East conflict. (Credit: Express photo by Amit Mehra & Screengrab/Instagram)
When PV Sindhu took her flight to Dubai, she didn’t expect that a possible title charge at the All England Super 1000 would never materialise as she would not make it to Birmingham at all.
Instead, the Indian badminton ace had to stay put in the transit hub for multiple days and return home subsequently, as the conflict engulfing the region made further travel impossible It forced Sindhu to skip the prestigious event.
After the United States and Israel unleashed large-scale air attacks on Iran that led to the death of their Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the regime in Tehran responded with a wave of missiles and drone strikes at its neighbours in the Middle East, Dubai being one of the targets.
Once Sindhu’s flight landed in the United Arab Emirates, it was announced that the Dubai airspace would be shut indefinitely. The Dubai airport, being a major hub for airlines, suffered heavy attacks.
“A few of my colleagues (doubles and some of the singles players) had taken off from Dubai just a few hours before I landed. So, they did transit in Dubai and reached Birmingham. So, it was a matter of a few hours. If I had gone earlier, I would have reached…” Sindhu told reporters on Tuesday.
At the Dubai airport, there was chaos everywhere. People from multiple terminals were stuck with nowhere to go. After waiting for a few hours, Sindhu was able to get a voucher for a hotel but the shuttle trains had been stopped and immigration counters shut. But the two-time Olympic medallist managed to reach the hotel. There she got a call from her coach saying he had heard a loud explosion very close to him and had seen smoke.
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“I don’t know if it was an explosion or debris or it was a drone, but there was a big sound and there was a lot of smoke and they had to run outside. The airport authorities arranged transport and brought them out and put them in a different hotel,” Sindhu said in the interaction facilitated by the Sports Authority of India.
ALSO READ | PV Sindhu back home in Bengaluru after Dubai ordeal as All England Open gets underway
At the hotel, Sindhu heard 5-6 loud explosions herself and got an alert on her phone to stay away from windows. Even through the pandemonium, she was still trying to figure out a way to reach Birmingham.
“We didn’t know what was going on because on one side, I was missing my tournament and on another side, safety was very important. I tried every possible way to go to All England, but that wasn’t the case. Nothing was in my hands. Nothing worked out,” she said.
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With nothing to do but wait, the former World champion encountered other Indians staying at the same hotel, most of whom were sympathetic to her missing out on the All England.
“There were a lot of Indians who said ‘Sorry that you couldn’t go to a tournament’. It’s good to actually have a conversation where they also know what’s going on and are trying to keep you strong and you are also trying to keep them strong in a way.”
The shuttler also said that her participation at the Swiss Open is in doubt because of the flight disruptions due to major Middle Eastern hubs facing the brunt of the conflict.
“Everything is via Dubai and I’m trying every way to go to Switzerland, but all flights are full,” said Sindhu.
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