Indian archers stranded in Dhaka for almost 10 hours after post-Championship flight cancelled

Kolkata: Indian archers returning from the Asian Championships in Dhaka faced a night of turmoil after their flight home was cancelled, leaving them stranded for nearly 10 hours and forced to take shelter in what athletes described as “substandard” accommodation. Several members of the 23-strong contingent, including two minors, were left to navigate the violence-hit Bangladeshi capital without security and with what they allege was virtually no assistance from the airline.

Eleven archers, including senior competitors Abhishek Verma, Jyoti Surekha and Olympian Dhiraj Bommadevara, arrived at Dhaka airport on Saturday for their scheduled 9.30 pm departure to Delhi. After boarding, passengers were informed that the aircraft had developed a technical fault and would not take off.The delay unfolded against a tense backdrop in Dhaka, where unrest had broken out as the city awaited a special tribunal’s verdict against deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a case involving alleged crimes against humanity.

The team remained inside the terminal until around 2 am with no firm updates, only to be told that the flight had been cancelled and no alternative service would be provided that night. Their situation worsened once they stepped outside the airport.

According to Verma, the group was bundled into a “window-less local bus” and taken about half an hour away to what he described as a makeshift lodge resembling a “dharamshala” rather than a proper hotel. The compound archer, a two-time Asian Games silver medallist, said the women had to share a cramped room with six beds and only one “filthy” toilet for the group.

“The ‘dharamshala’ given in the name of a guest house was very pathetic,” Verma told PTI. “There was only one toilet and the condition was very bad. I don’t think anyone could have taken a bath there.”

Attempts by the archers to arrange their own accommodation proved futile because international cards were not accepted and app-based services such as Uber would not process payments. With no confirmed information on the rescheduled flight, the squad had little option but to remain where they were.

The group returned to the airport at 7 am on Sunday, but the delays had a knock-on effect once they finally reached Delhi. Several archers missed their connecting flights to Hyderabad and Vijayawada, resulting in costly rebookings and long road journeys. “Now all the flights were cancelled and the Federation had to bear the cost,” Verma said, adding that some individual tickets had exceeded ₹20,000.

Verma accused the airline of failing to take responsibility for the national squad’s safety during a volatile period in Dhaka. “Your plane broke down, and while you know riots are happening outside...How did they put us in local transport? If something had happened in that bus, there were three teenage girls. Who would have been responsible?” he said. “There were seven female members, of which four were under 20. No, there was no compensation.”

The chaotic journey overshadowed India’s most successful performance at the Asian Championships, where the team topped the medals table with 10 podium finishes: six gold, three silver and one bronze. They finished ahead of traditional powerhouse South Korea, who also claimed 10 medals but fewer golds.

The 23-member Indian delegation had been divided into three travel groups bound for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The Kolkata contingent — which included Atanu Das, Deepika Kumari and coaches Poornima Mahato and Rahul Banerjee — faced no issues, while the Mumbai group, featuring Maharashtra archers Prathamesh Fuge and Sahil Jadhav, also returned without incident.