NEW DELHI: Danish badminton player Mia Blichfeldt on Saturday criticised the playing conditions at the ongoing India Open Super 750 tournament, describing it as “unhealthy and unacceptable”.
The tournament is being played here at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. The 27-year-old’s remarks came after she suffered a stomach infection during the tournament, which she attributed to the subpar environment of the stadium. She was also critical of the pollution levels in the Capital.
“Finally, home after a long and stressful week in India. It’s two years in a row now that I get sick during the India Open. It’s really hard to accept that many weeks of hard work and preparation 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. These conditions are totally unhealthy and unacceptable,” the world No. 23 wrote on Instagram while tagging the Badminton World Federation.
“I’m happy that I managed to go on court and win my first round and still play a good match in the second round, but I am far from satisfied,” she added while sharing a photo and video of Delhi pollution.
Blichfeldt’s ordeal began on Tuesday evening when she experienced severe vomiting throughout the night, leading to exhaustion and physical weakness. Despite her compromised health, she demonstrated remarkable resilience by competing in her matches.
In the second round, she faced China’s Wang Zhi Yi, the world No. 2, and managed to push the match to three games before losing 13-21, 21-16, 21-8. The Badminton Association of India (BAI), which organises the India Open event, said the organisers are already in discussion with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to explore alternate venue options.
BAI, on its part, said that it faced “logistical challenges” after getting the venue just four days before the event.
“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,” BAI secretary Sanjay Mishra said on Saturday.
“We are already in discussions with BWF to explore alternative venues and are actively evaluating the infrastructure options,” he added.
Following her loss to Wang on Thursday, Blichfeldt interacted with the BWF media team and said, “That night (Tuesday) was terrible. The only sleep I got was in the morning because I kept throwing up all night. I’m really tired now and my body is really dead. It’s not so nice for me. I wish I could have gone to the court at 100 percent. It took a lot of mental work on my part (to get on court). It’s really frustrating when you’ve been training to come to these tournaments and then this is one of the things that stops you from performing.”
French mixed doubles pair of Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue had also expressed concerns about the weather conditions.
