7 Days to Go: Sanjay Mishra Says Delhi Is Ready for a Transformed World Championships

With just one week to go for the BWF World Championships in New Delhi, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) is confident that the problems it faced during the India Open have been addressed.

The Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, which hosted the India Open earlier this year, has undergone major renovation ahead of the World Championships, which begin on August 17, with more than 400 players set to compete for the prestigious title.

The India Open was supposed to be a ‘dress rehearsal for the World Championships’. Instead, the tournament attracted attention for several off-court issues, including cleanliness concerns, pigeon droppings, pieces of nests falling near the courts, pollution and even a monkey entering the spectator area.

After the criticism faced during the India Open, BAI made several changes to the venue. A non-toxic slippery gel has been applied to prevent pigeons from perching around the venue, while specialised sound machines have been imported from the United States to mimic the calls of predatory birds and keep pigeons away. Reinforced glass doors have also been installed to prevent unauthorised entry.

BAI secretary general Sanjay Mishra had earlier admitted that there were areas that needed improvement, while also requesting people not to focus only on the negatives.

In an exclusive conversation with RevSportz during the India Open, Mishra said: “We are taking all the comments and feedback that are coming our way very seriously. As a national federation, we will do whatever is possible for the betterment of the sport and the players. Our focus is to ensure that the World Championships is conducted at the highest possible standard.”

He also accepted that the India Open was not perfect. “I would say 95% of the work has been done well, and if there is a 5% gap, we will certainly address and remove that,” he said.

Mishra also pointed out that unexpected problems are not unusual at major international sporting events. According to him, BAI was in regular contact with the BWF during the India Open and was taking the feedback seriously.

“The BWF team is present here and we are in constant touch with them,” Mishra had said. “Their view is very clear, nothing is happening here that has never happened before.”

For BAI, the India Open was an important learning experience. The large size of the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium required extensive preparation.

“We installed completely new wooden flooring and court-specific lighting, similar to what you see at the All England Championships, where the court is brightly lit and the surrounding area remains comparatively darker,” Mishra told RevSportz. “This has been widely appreciated.”

The stadium, which was originally built for the Asian Games in 1982 and was last renovated for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, has undergone another major transformation.

Poor lighting drew a lot of criticism from television viewers during the India Open. “The BAI received feedback from TV viewers during the India Open about the need to improve lighting on the courts,” BWF Events Director Selvaramesh Supramaniam told The Indian Express. “BAI has hired experts who work at the Indonesian Open and Indonesia Masters to make sure the lighting is perfect.”

The BWF has been regularly inspecting the venue since the beginning of the year and has continued to monitor the final preparations.

“We visited the stadium in January, February, April, June and then in the last couple of days,” he said. “A lot of work has been done. We are happy, but we still need to keep checking for the next few days on the cleaning that’s being done.”

The Sports Ministry has also assigned two architects and four engineers from the Central Public Works Department to monitor parts of the refurbishment. More than 100 skilled workers have been involved in the preparations, while 80 washrooms have been revamped and the practice courts are also being maintained.

“The last three days that I’ve been there, I haven’t seen any pigeons,” added Selvaramesh. “I don’t know whether that’s because there are a lot of people or the gel is actually doing its job. I have not seen any monkeys, either. From what I heard, they rounded up 60-odd dogs. There are still some, but they are confident they will be able to round them up as well.”

With the world’s best shuttlers set to arrive in New Delhi from August 17, BAI will now aim to provide a world-class experience to players, officials and spectators.

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