NEW DELHI: Can the Sports Authority of India (SAI) be absolved of responsibility for the embarrassing mess that unfolded at the India Open Super 750 badminton at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium? That question has grown louder by the day as a cascade of venue-related failures turned one of the BWF World Tour’s marquee events into a case study in administrative neglect.The sight of an MCD dog catching rats stationed at the venue on Friday served as a stark indicator of how serious the situation had become, and how far the tournament had drifted from basic international standards.
The India Open is being staged at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium (part of the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex), a facility owned and maintained by SAI on behalf of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS). While the Badminton Association of India (BAI) is the event organiser, the responsibility for upkeep and maintenance lies with SAI, a point that several stakeholders believe cannot be brushed aside.“Venue hygiene, safety and basic readiness are non-negotiable at a World Tour Super 750 event,” an ex-India shuttler said. “These are not overnight issues. Dirty premises, animal intrusion and unfinished work point to systemic failure, not just last-minute lapses.”Against this backdrop, sources told TOI that the stadium was handed over to the organisers only on January 2. “The window was small,” admitted a BAI source, “but that does not explain animal intrusion or filth in the surroundings. Those are baseline maintenance issues.”“You can’t pass the buck entirely to BAI,” the source said.However, handing the India Open to the IGI Stadium without first stress-testing the venue through a national event was a serious misjudgment on the part of BAI too. Late Thursday night and throughout Friday, frantic cleaning and scrubbing operations were launched at the stadium. “Fixing things after players complain is the worst possible approach,” a former India shuttler said. “By then, the damage is already done — reputationally and otherwise.”While the BAI cannot escape responsibility, especially with the World Championships scheduled at the same venue in August, the spotlight is on SAI’s role as the stadium’s custodian. “The India Open was supposed to be a rehearsal for the Worlds. Instead, it has exposed deep cracks in infrastructure management. If not addressed urgently, August could be more damaging,” an ex-player said.“This is not how the venue of a Super 750 tournament should look, especially one that is supposed to host the World Championships later this year. I find it very difficult to see how the World Championships could be held here,” Danish shuttler Mia Blichfeldt told Instagram on Friday.“The venues were handed over in time to BAI for setting up Field of Play, practice area etc,” a SAI official told TOI. “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. Protocols and oversight…”
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