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Sayak Mukhopadhyay, an Indian-origin man, glued his feet to the stadium floor and disrupted a US Open Tennis match between American Coco Gauff and Czech Karolina Muchova on 7 September for nearly 50 minutes.
Reports state that 50-year-old Mukhopadhyay, along with two other members of Extinction Rebellion NYC, stood up and shouted, "No tennis on a dead planet" and "End fossil fuels." He then removed his shoes and glued his feet to the floor, obstructing police efforts to remove him.
Indian-origin climate protester disrupts US Open
Mukhopadhyay and three other environmental activists from Extinction Rebellion disrupted the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands on September 7, causing a 50-minute interruption in the tennis match between American Coco Gauff and Czech Karolina Muchova. They all wore shirts with the message "End Fossil Fuels." Police arrested and charged the two men on September 7.
In an interview with NBC News, Mukhopadhyay explained that he glued his feet to the ground to create a significant and sustained disruption, intending to prompt people to stop and think that business as usual cannot continue.
The New York Police Department charged Sayak Mukhopadhyay of White Plains, New York, with trespassing. They stated that their Emergency Service Unit personnel safely freed him and made the arrest. He received a notice to appear in court.
Mukhopadhyay, who moved to New York from his native Kolkata 25 years ago, expressed his ongoing connection to India due to his awareness of its low resource and energy consumption levels. Extinction Rebellion quoted him on this.
During a news conference, Coco Gauff, who defeated Muchova in that match and won the US Open, commented that she couldn't get "too mad" at the stunt because "they had done it in a peaceful way."
Who is Sayak Mukhopadhyay
Sayak Mukhopadhyay 50-year-old Indian-origin climate activist who glued his feet to the floor of the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City on September 7, 2023, during a US Open tennis match between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova. He held a banner that read “No Tennis on Dead Planet” and chanted slogans against fossil fuels.
Sayak, a member of a group called Extinction Rebellion, which aims to draw attention to the climate crisis and demand urgent action from the governments, disrupted the match for nearly 50 minutes. Authorities subsequently arrested and charged him with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.
People in India, who suffer the consequences of emissions by developed countries, motivated him due to the climate injustice, he said. Sayak also said that he wanted to spark a backlash and a debate on the issue of climate change. He invited Coco Gauff to join his next protest and apologized for any inconvenience caused to her.
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