No monkey. No pigeon. So far, so good.
Seven months after the India Open was disrupted by birds, a monkey and a series of complaints over conditions at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, the same venue is telling a very different story at the BWF World Championships.
And, more importantly, it feels different.
The venue looks super clean. Indian sporting venues often invite comparisons on standards, but so far, there is a widespread feeling that this World Championships venue is world-class.
The difference has not gone unnoticed by the players. BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund, midway through the tournament, offered the strongest endorsement yet of the turnaround.
“I’m super impressed to see what has been established in this venue. I know there has been some criticism earlier in the year, but the amount of things that have been done in that really, really short time”
Lund said the feedback from players had been overwhelmingly positive.
“And I think Badminton India and all the stakeholders, the government and everybody that has actually been behind this with the venue, with the operational detail that they’ve been able to get right for this tournament. I’ve only heard really positive feedback from players and everybody that actually, you know, were here earlier in the year and had different concerns and so on.”
The endorsement has also come from the other side of the net.
Kunlavut Vitidsarn, the second seed from Thailand, said the hosts had met his expectations.
“Very good. Yes, I am very happy with the arrangements,” he said.
That is a significant shift from January, when the India Open became as much a story about its venue as it was about badminton.
A pigeon interrupted HS Prannoy’s match against Loh Kean Yew. Then it happened again. A monkey was spotted inside the venue. Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt questioned the hygiene and playing conditions, while Anders Antonsen withdrew from the tournament citing Delhi’s pollution.
Mia even said at the time that it was hard for her to imagine how a venue in such a state could host the World Championships six months later.
WHEN AN EVENT BECAME A CHECKLIST
The India Open had been deliberately brought to the IGI Stadium as a test event ahead of the World Championships. The test, in the end, produced a long list of things that needed fixing.
And BWF took note.
“A lot of work has been done in the last six months. India Open at the IGI Stadium was intentional. We wanted to test the venue. That tournament gave a lot of insight on what we needed to do,” Selvamresh Supramaniam, Events Director for Tournament Operations at BWF, told the media on Wednesday.
The BWF team returned to Delhi in February. A report was compiled and sent to the Badminton Association of India, which then forwarded it to the Sports Authority of India, the owner of the venue.
The list was long.
Roofing and waterproofing needed attention. General cleanliness had to be improved. The wiring and electrical systems needed upgrades. Toilets required cleaning and new fittings. Even the beams needed painting.
And then there was the problem that had become the symbol of the India Open: Bird droppings.
During the World Championships, however, the pigeons have effectively been given their own security operation.
Selvamresh said BAI and SAI worked on an anti-toxic gel system, normally used at airports, to prevent birds from perching on the beams. The triple-door system at the venue has also been introduced to limit the entry of animals.
“The issue of bird dropping in the India Open — we discussed it with the SAI and BAI. They came up with anti-toxic gel system, which is normally used in airports, so that the birds do not perch on the beams,” Selvamresh said.
Dogs that had been around the compound were also relocated with the help of local agencies.
“A lot has been done. We are very happy with what we have seen. We can’t prevent 100 per cent animals and insects and all that. But it’s about how fast we respond and how well we attend to the problem.”
That, perhaps, is the biggest change. The organisers are no longer claiming that nothing can go wrong. They are saying they have systems in place for when something does.
“I think for that I have to give high marks to the BAI and the SAI, who embraced this challenge and did whatever we asked. And today, you can see, everything is in place,” Selvamresh said.
CLEAN TOILETS, WOMEN-FRIENDLY INITIATIVES
The changes are not restricted to the things that make for viral photographs.
The toilets have been upgraded. New fittings have gone in. Female players have noticed something else: sanitary products, including sanitary pads and pee-safe sprays, are available in the washrooms.
Kirsty Gilmour, who takes pride in Scotland being among the countries that made sanitary products available in public places, welcomed the initiative.
“It’s great. We can’t plan for such things all the time. Sometimes, our bodies have different ideas and plans, whether it is stress or different hormones. I think just as we should have toilet rolls, we should have sanitary products as well. I really love to see the update here,” she told The Bridge.
South African shuttler Johanna Scholtz was equally positive about the experience.
“We never struggled to get anything. When you need something, you literally just go and ask for it. It’s very comfortable.”
Selvamresh said the feedback from female players had been particularly pleasing.
“Players are happy. Female players have expressed satisfaction, saying there are sanitary pads in the washrooms. For me, in my time, this is among the first time we have done this. Congratulations to BAI for this initiative.”
SURPRISINGLY CLEAN
The difference is visible to spectators too.
Bhupesh Kumar, who attended the World Championships with his son on Wednesday, watched PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty during the afternoon session. He expected the toilets to be one of the weak points.
Instead, he found new, clean facilities, with staff stationed outside and ready to clean them after use.
“The toilets were new and clean even in the evening. I expected it not to be. But to my surprise, they were clean,” he said.
He also found the seats comfortable, food counters reasonably priced and a more welcoming environment around the arena, with branded stalls and child-friendly kiosks adding to the experience.
The details matter because they are the details that were questioned in January.
THE PICTURES TELL THE STORY
Mia Blichfeldt herself has provided perhaps the most striking visual shorthand for the transformation.
The Dane, whose criticism during the India Open became one of the defining moments of the January tournament, shared images comparing the venue then and now on Instagram.
The post went viral.
This time, the message was different.
Most overseas players have been happy with the conditions. The venue has been kept clean. Volunteers are constantly moving around the indoor arena, cleaning spectator areas. Entry gates are clearly marked. The animal-control measures have worked so far.
There have been no pigeons or monkeys interrupting matches. That sounds like a low bar for a World Championship. In Delhi in January, it was not. The seats at the IGI Stadium have been replaced where necessary. The transport system has held up despite rain and traffic. The hotels, in which players and officials are staying, have been comfortable, according to Selvamresh.
The practice venue has also received attention, with fresh paint and darker walls making it easier to see the shuttle.
There are still quirks to the venue. The air-conditioning and high roof can create drift, something players have had to adjust to. But that is a badminton problem rather than a venue-management crisis, and the players are getting used to it.
And the World Championships, midway through the tournament, have been allowed to become what they were supposed to be all along: a badminton tournament.
Lund was keen to make that point.
“I’ll just hope from here on and on to the finals, the focus will be on what happens on that court down there because, frankly, we’ve had fantastic matches,” he said.
It is perhaps the most telling endorsement Delhi could have wanted. In January, the venue itself was part of the story. In August, the badminton is.
– Ends
