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Danish badminton player Mia Blichfeldt on Saturday, January 18 slammed the conditions available at the ongoing India Open Super 750 badminton tournament. The Denmark international termed the conditions “unhealthy and unacceptable” during the ongoing tournament, bringing the Badminton Association of India (BAI) once again into the limelight.
The 27-year-old Danish shuttler claimed of encountering stomach infection during the course of her tournament, which is being played at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. She also spoke at length of the subpar evironment at the Stadium, while adding the pollution levels in the national capital.
I'm far from satisfied: Mia Blichfeldt on “stressful week in India”
The World No. 23, who managed to fight through the second round but lost 21-13, 16-21, 8-21 to China’s Wang Zhi Yi at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, called it as “a long and stressful week” in the national capital. "Finally home after a long and stressful week in India. It's 2 years in a row now that I get sick during India Open," Blichfeldt wrote on Instagram. "It's really hard to accept that many weeks of work and preparing, gets wasted because of bad conditions. It's not fair to anyone that we have to train and play in smog, birds shitting on the courts, and dirt everywhere,” she further added, highlighting the condition of the facility.
"These conditions are too unhealthy and unacceptable. @bwf.official. I'm happy that I managed the second round, but I'm far from satisfied," the Danish internation further added. However, Mia Blichfeldt was quick to get a response from the Badminton Association of India (BAI) as they informed her of the "logistical challenges" faced by the organisation.
BAI Secretary Sanjay Mishra cites “logistical challenges” for poor management
Responding to Mia Blichfeldt’s query, BAI Secretary Sanjay Mishra said, "As the host and staging authority for the Yonex Sunrise India Open, the Badminton Association of India gains access to the stadium and its infrastructure only four days before the event, which poses significant logistical challenges."
"We are already in discussions with the BWF to explore alternative venues and are actively evaluating the infrastructure options," he added. Notably, this is not the first time that such an incident has taken place in India. Earlier during the 2023 Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament, several foreign internationals had raised concerns about the poor conditions at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium. It was followed by Malaysia’s Soong Joo Ven also taking to social media to complain of the facilities during the Guwahati Masters Super 100 tournament.