PV Sindhu decided to withdraw from the Swiss Open just days after returning to India after a chaotic three-day ordeal in Dubai. The two-time Olympic medalist decided to skip the tournament as she tries to recover physically and mentally from the incident which also forced her to miss the All England Open Badminton Championships.
Sindhu traveled to Birmingham for the All England Championships when a disturbance in Persian Gulf airspace left her stranded in Dubai for several days. Sanjay Mishra confirmed that Sindhu will not participate in the Swiss Open and said that the player needs time to recover from the unexpected situation.
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“She is not playing in the Swiss Open. We all know what she went through in Dubai, she couldn’t travel to Birmingham. So she was looking for some time to recover from that,” Mishra told PTI.
On her return to Bengaluru, the Indian badminton star spoke about the stress and fear she experienced during the ordeal.
“There was a lot of stress. And it was scary. I think the only thing was to stay calm. I know it’s not an ideal situation where you say we’re calm but we’re not in,” Sindhu said.
“It’s actually very stressful. But I have to say it’s an experience. And I hope it’s the first and last experience of this kind,” she added.
WHY WAS SINDHU’S PV FULFILLED IN DUBAI?
Sindhu arrived in Dubai on February 28 as part of her trip to Birmingham for the England Championships.
However, rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East disrupted air operations in the Persian Gulf region after the United States and Israel carried out airstrikes against Iran, followed by retaliation from Tehran. As a result, several airspaces were temporarily closed, halting traffic at one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs.
The sudden suspension of flights left thousands of passengers, including Sindhu and her team, stranded in Dubai, with no indication of when they would be able to resume their journey.
The situation became more alarming on March 1 when an explosion occurred near the place where Sindhu and her team were staying. The incident forced authorities to quickly relocate them to a safer location.
Sindhu later revealed that the moment was extremely tense, especially as her coach was the closest to the smoke and debris from the blast.
With the help of Dubai airport authorities and the Indian High Commission in the UAE, Sindhu and her team were eventually relocated safely and managed to return to India on March 3.
Sindhu was scheduled to face Thailand’s Supanida Katethong in the opening round of the All England Championships, but travel disruptions forced her to withdraw from the tournament.
The Indian shuttler is now expected to take a short break and is likely to make a comeback at the Asian Badminton Championships in April.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
09 March 2026 14:44 IST
