NEW DELHI: Months after the India Open came under fire over the condition of its facilities, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has assured players and fans that New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium has undergone a complete makeover and is ready to host the “best-ever” edition of the BWF World Championships.The World Championships will be held in the national capital from August 17, with organisers confident that the issues which overshadowed the India Open earlier this year have now been fully addressed.The India Open had attracted widespread criticism after players complained about the cleanliness of the venue, training facilities and air quality. The tournament also witnessed unusual interruptions, including matches being briefly halted due to bird droppings and even a monkey entering the spectator stands.
‘Every issue has been resolved’
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Championships draw ceremony, BAI secretary general Sanjay Mishra said the governing body had acted on every concern raised during the India Open.“We’ve worked on every issue that came up then, and I’m happy to say those problems have been resolved completely. I’m confident this will be one of the best World Championships ever,” Mishra told PTI.He also acknowledged the role played by the Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in upgrading the venue.“I would especially like to thank the Sports Ministry and SAI because they’ve worked very hard. Under the guidance of our president, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, all the preparations are progressing well,” he added.
India Open served as a ‘test event’
Mishra described the India Open as a valuable trial run that helped organisers identify and fix shortcomings well before the World Championships.“The stadium is almost ready for the tournament. The India Open was essentially a test event for the World Championships. If we hadn’t conducted that test event, we wouldn’t have known what difficulties we were likely to face,” he said.The criticism during the India Open had intensified after Danish shuttler Mia Blichfeldt publicly questioned the condition of the warm-up and practice courts at the K.D. Jadhav Indoor Hall and the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.According to Mishra, the venue has since been extensively refurbished.“The biggest change is the complete renovation of the stadium. The walls, toilets and floors have all been refurbished. We’ve even brought in Malaysian lighting experts to handle the lighting. There weren’t any major complaints about the lighting last time, but even then, we’ve invited some of the world’s best experts in this field,” he said.Explaining the final phase of preparations, Mishra added: “They will set up the entire lighting system, after which the BWF will inspect and approve it before the final court-specific lighting is installed. I believe anyone who saw or played at the India Open will find this stadium completely transformed this time.”
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