Helpless in Dhaka: Indian Archery team endure chaos after historic medal haul

Eleven members of the Indian archery team were left stranded for nearly 10 hours at the Dhaka airport under chaotic and unsafe conditions.

The team, fresh from their best-ever performance of 10 medals at the 2025 Asian Archery Championships, was subjected to a night filled with confusion, delays and complete lack of support at the airport on their return journey to India.

Trouble began on November 15, when the Indian contingent arrived at the Dhaka airport and eleven of them, including veteran archer Abhishek Verma, Jyoti Surekha, Dhiraj Bommadevara among others, along with three support staff, faced flight cancellation.

"Our flight (from Dhaka to Delhi) was at 9:30 pm on November 15. We were asked to check out from our hotel at around 4pm due to the tense atmosphere. The rest of the team left on schedule for Mumbai and Calcutta," said Abhishek Verma to The Bridge on Monday.

"We boarded at 10:30 pm, already an hour behind schedule. After a while we were informed there was a technical glitch and we had to deboard," he added.

More than 126 passengers, including the 11 Indian archers, some of them minors, were left stranded without any clarity about boarding till nearly 2am. Thereafter, the archers' connecting flights tickets from Delhi were cancelled due to repeated delays.

"We were told an alternate flight will come from Delhi but after some 1-2 hours we were told no flights would come and the same flight would be repaired. For a long time no one could give us clarity," the archer said.

After hours of waiting, the airline informed the passengers that they would be placed on the same aircraft the next day, depending on seat availability.

"At 2 am, the airlines informed us that no connecting flight would be provided. We didn’t know what to do, where to go, whom to call at the odd hour," the archer revealed.

It was then that the Archery Association of India advised them to take the first available flight, scheduled for 11 am to Mumbai, and that they would arrange for the connecting flights.

Unsafe transport, poor accommodation

Just when things appeared to be settling down, another distressing episode began to unravel. The archers were now ‘stuffed’ into a local bus and sent to a nearby hotel to spend the night.

"We were literally stuffed into a local bus with no windows. Our luggage was thrown inside, and we were taken to a nearby place that was not even a proper hotel. It was more like a dormitory with six beds in a room," the archer recalled.

All along, the Indian archers received no support from the local organisers. To make matters worse, their cards were not working at the ATMs in Dhaka and only local currency was being accepted. The unstable political climate in the country only added to the tension.

"You know the situation in Dhaka. On the last day, we were told to leave the hotel early because cars were being burned," said Abhishek.

"We had girl archers aged 15, 17 and 18. We had to ensure their safety. Until we were with the Asian Federation, everything including our security was well taken care of. The moment we entered the airport, we were at the mercy of the airline. We had no option but to surrender to the circumstances," he added.

‘Worst experience of my career'

The following day, the India team quickly rushed to the airport to catch the Mumbai flight, but their ordeal did not end upon reaching home soil.

The Mumbai flight was delayed again, causing top archers Jyoti Surekha and Dhiraj Bommadevara to miss their connecting flight to Vijayawada. Despite sprinting to the gate, they were denied entry and eventually had to fly to Hyderabad instead and undertake a six-hour road journey to reach home.

Meanwhile, archers on the Mumbai-Delhi flight were asked to pay handling fees again for bows and extra luggage, charges they had already paid in Dhaka.

"We saw the boarding gates close right in front of our eyes. Jyoti and Dhiraj missed the flight. They requested and pleaded to be allowed but it fell on deaf ears," revealed Abhishek.

"As for the extra charges, I could have paid but how can I ask a 15-year-old to do that? We put our foot down this time and refused. We told them we are the Indian archery team and showed them documents. It was only then that they agreed," he said.

“I don’t know where the fault lies, but this was the worst experience of my 22-year career,” he concluded.

With six gold medals against their name, the Indian archery team had recorded their best-ever performance at the continental championships to top the medal tally in Dhaka, finishing ahead of heavyweights South Korea.