Flight delayed by Dubai rains, wrestlers Deepak Punia, Sujeet Kalkal disallowed from Olympic Qualifiers

India's Olympic hopefuls Deepak Punia and Sujeet Kalkal missed out on one of the last opportunities to qualify for the world event after their flight was delayed by the Dubai torrential rains.

The Indian Express reported that, on Friday morning, wrestlers Punia and Kalkal arrived at the venue in Bishkek, Kyrzygstan just minutes after the weigh-in had gotten underway, prompting organisers to disallow them from entering.

At the weigh-in, participants record their weights and show that they meet the criteria for the event.

The organisers reportedly refused to make any exemptions despite requests by the two Indians.

Now, they have another shot at Olympic qualification, at the World Qualifiers in May.

The duo, arriving from Dubai, were stuck in the city for two days owing to the torrential rains that have caused massive floods and disruptions in air traffic across the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

As per another Indian Express report, Punia and Kalkal were stranded at Dubai airport without any facilities and were allegedly sleeping on the floor within the airport premises.

The rest of the Indian contingent, including Vinesh Phogat and Aman Sehrawat arrived in Bishkek directly from India.

Punia and Kalkar were earlier training in Russia and took a flight to Bishkek via Dubai.