World number 20 shuttler Mia Blichfeldt directed a fresh wave of criticism at the sanitation and cleanliness of the new venue of the India Open Super 750 tournament. The Danish shuttler had complained of the conditions at the KD Jadhav Indoor stadium during last year’s Super 750 event in India. The venue for the tournament was shifted from the indoor hall to the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, as preparation for the BWF World Championships, set to be hosted in India in August 2026.
“I’m happy with the court conditions but not the health conditions”, Blichfeldt told reporters after her first round win against Chinese Taipei shuttler Chin Piu-chian. “The floors are dirty and there is a lot of dirt on the courts. Also, there are birds flying in the arena, there is bird poop also.”
She then added, “As a European player, I think I’m more sensitive to all this stuff.”
This is the second year in a row Blichfeldt has complained about the conditions now at two different indoor stadiums adjacent to each other in New Delhi. Last year, she had complained about the same issues and had also fallen sick due to the food.
“Last year I made a complaint about the conditions because I think it’s not fair to the players. A lot of us get sick and that means we cannot participate in the tournament the week after,” said Blichfeldt. “This year I’m only eating in my room actually to try to not get sick. Weatherwise also, it is cold and I’m playing with extra layering.”
Cold takes over
January is one of the coldest months in Delhi and the temperature yesterday dipped to 13 degree celsius during the afternoon. The arena has been chilly and it has resulted in players not getting warmed-up properly. Many of the players on Tuesday believed that it is colder at the Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium than it was at the previous venue.
“I felt kind of cold, it was hard to warm up in there. It’s a lot bigger, I’ve gotten lost a couple of times already. The other venue is obviously smaller and it’s more simple,” Canadian shuttler Michelle Li said.
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The indoor Stadium is slated to host the World Championships in August and the India Open is serving as the test run before the marquee event.
“The arena itself is huge and I think it’s really great for major events like this, especially World Championships. But I really hope that it’s going to be better conditions for the players during the Worlds. Everybody is trying their best to make conditions good for the athletes but BWF should look into it as this is a professional sport,” Blichfeldt added further.
The Badminton Association of India secretary Sanjay Mishra had said on the eve of the tournament that the India Open would serve as a test run for the World Championships. “Whatever issue comes up in the next week, we will sort it out before the World Championships,” he had told this paper.
