Badminton Association of India secretary general Sanjay Mishra on Sunday said the 2028 India Open Super 750 tournament will be held in Guwahati as the dates will clash with the security arrangements in the National capital for the Republic Day.
Top players, including Anders Antonsen, have criticised the India Open's January-February window due to New Delhi's severe winter air pollution and cold indoor stadium temperatures.
The Badminton World Federation had moved the India Open to February 2-7 for the 2027 season to avoid the worst of New Delhi's winter weather, before returning it to late January for the 2028 season.
In 2028, the event will be held from January 25-30, and Mishra said hosting the tournament in Delhi during that period would be difficult due to security and logistical issues.
"The 2028 India Open will be held in the last week of January, and due to the tournament dates clashing with Republic Day security arrangements in the National capital, we felt that only for that year, we should shift the tournament to Guwahati. It will return to New Delhi in 2029," Mishra told reporters.
Guwahati successfully hosted the 2025 World Junior Championships.
{{/usCountry}}Guwahati successfully hosted the 2025 World Junior Championships.
{{/usCountry}}Antonsen has repeatedly skipped the event and accepted mandatory fines, urging the BWF to reschedule the tournament.
Mixed doubles pair of Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue, who on Sunday became the first French badminton players to become world champions, also urged BWF to host the India Open in a different window.
"It was a better atmosphere compared to India Open when it's not the same, and also it's hard to breathe and the quality of the tournament is not as good as this week, so it was really good for us, and we hope that the BWF will change the month that when they host India Open, because in January it's not very good for us," Gicquel said.
BAI also said they have bid to host the 2028 Thomas and Uber Cup.
"We have bid for the tournament in 2028, and we are hopeful that we will get it after the World Championships. There are other countries also in the running, but we are hopeful to host it."