One fine mess: The India Open gets things very wrong

A poorly managed tournament has shown why India need to get professional about hosting events

The action at the $950,000 India Open — the country’s biggest badminton tournament — has been nothing short of captivating but that is only if you have been able to look past the cold, the pollution, the monkeys, the pigeons, the bird droppings and the complaining players.

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand engaged in an unbelievable 103-shot rally against China’s Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min — the tournament’s longest yet — on Thursday. Reigning Olympic champion An Se Young has put on many mesmerising displays of her craft. Former world champion Loh Kean Yew has been putting in those massive jump smashes of his as well.

But no one is talking about the on-court action for a good reason. The focus has instead been on the poor management that has grabbed not just the attention of the domestic media but also garnered international scrutiny.

It all started on Tuesday when Danish shuttler Mia Blichfeldt, world No.20, complained about the general cleanliness, birds and their excreta at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall — the training venue of the tournament.

The brickbats continued to flow the next day when men’s world No.3 Anders Antonsen pulled out due to “extreme” pollution levels in the national capital. Loh Kean Yew said that high pollution levels were affecting him too while Thai shuttler Busanan Ongbamrungphan posted screenshots of high AQI readings.

Then, monkeys found their way into the stands of not just the training venue but also the the playing arena. To compound matters, bird droppings stopped a match twice on Thursday.

Fans all around the world have also been infuriated by the constant buffering of the live stream on BAI’s official YouTube channel. It just goes from bad to worse.

On Friday, Blichfeldt once again took to Instagram on Friday to express her displeasure.

“I had mentally prepared myself for ‘the worst’ once again, but the conditions surrounding us are simply unacceptable and highly unprofessional. Unfortunately, under these circumstances, it becomes extremely difficult to focus solely on competing and delivering our best performance,” Blichfeldt posted.

She added: “Sadly, under the current circumstances, I find it very difficult to see how a World Championship could be held here.”

The complaints have spiralled beyond the control of the hosts, the Badminton Association of India (BAI). On Friday, the Sports Authority of India, which runs the venue, suddenly swung into action and people were employed to start the clean-up on the premises. But the damage is already done.

The Indira Gandhi Sports Complex comprises three facilities — Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, KD Jadhav Indoor Hall and Cycling Velodrome. Till last year, India Open was held at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall but this year it was shifted to the much larger IGI Stadium as the venue is scheduled to host the BWF World Championships in August. The stadiums were handed over by SAI, who own the complex, to BAI on January 2.

“The venues were handed over in time to BAI for setting up the Field of Play, practice area etc. The routine cleaning and maintenance were done in advance. However, the presence of pigeons in the high altars of stadium premises is a real issue. With large openings (air vents, ducts and shafts) in the stadium, it’s a challenge to completely block entry of pigeons,” a SAI official in the know of things told HT.

The India Open is being treated as a test event ahead of the all important Worlds. The shift in stadium was made as IGI Stadium can fit four play courts — a mandatory requirement for the World Championships. Other BWF “Field of Play requirements” include fitting cameras for full TV court production, proper sports presentation, bigger venue for proper broadcast partner and sponsorship servicing.

“There is a proper gym at the IGI Stadium too which is not there at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall,” explained a BWF official.

In a statement on Thursday, the BWF said, “insights gathered this week will guide further upgrades to deliver a world-class experience in August, where the seasonal issues are not expected to be as severe.”

The BAI, too, has apparently learnt its lessons.

“We have tried our best, but it can be better. We had kept it (India Open) as a test event for the World Championships for these reasons only so that we can correct the mistakes,” BAI secretary general Sanjay Mishra told HT.

Truth be told, such incidents are a blatant disregard of the basics which no professional organisation should be able to stomach. The message being sent out by the country that has aspirations to host the Olympics is that we aren’t ready yet. It is, in every sense, a wake-up call that should not be swept under the carpet.