Indian Badminton Player Stranded In Botswana Amid Omicron Scare

Priyansh Khushwani (21) and two others - Naren S Iyer and Revati Devasthale - had gone to Botswana to participate in an international badminton tournament.

Amid the scare of Omicron variant spread, an Indian badminton player and two others are stranded in Botswana after commercial flights out of the country were banned at two transit points, Dubai and Doha.

Priyansh Khushwani (21) and two others - Naren S Iyer and Revati Devasthale - had gone to Botswana to participate in an international badminton tournament.

Dilip Khushwani, Priyansh's father, said, "My son had gone to Botswana to participate in International Open tournament. On November 28, Qatar Airlines cancelled flight services. Since then, we booked two flight tickets, but that also got cancelled."

Mr Khushwani added, "After contacting Indian Embassy in Botswana, the embassy has made all the necessary arrangements. His visa also got expired on November 30. Somehow, we arranged tourist visa for him in Kenya and booked another ticket on December 10. From Kenya, he will travel to Ahmedabad. We pray this time his flight to Ahmedabad does not get cancelled."