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Denmark's Anders Antonsen return a shot to China's Lei Lan Xi during the men's singles match in the Indonesia Masters badminton tournament at the Istora Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia. (AP)
With the India Open coming under the scanner after Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt and had Anders Antonsen criticising the conditions with the latter even pulling out of the tournament citing ‘extreme pollution’ in New Delhi, Badminton Association of India general secretary Sanjay Mishra opened up about the recent controversies.
Talking about World no. 3 Antonsen’s withdrawal, Mishra said to ANI that “I had a chat with the BWF. He (Danish shuttler Anders Antonsen) can’t comment on the conditions here while sitting in Denmark. Can I talk about Denmark’s conditions sitting here in India? Actually, he is a committed BWF player. The BWF committed players have to mandatorily play these big tournaments. His reason for withdrawal was not accepted by BWF and he was fined.”
He also talked about the issues pointed out by Blichfeldt on Tuesday, where she called out the playing and training conditions at the IG Indoor Stadium, where the 2026 edition of India Open is being hosted – at a bigger arena compared to KD Jadhav Indoor stadium inside the same complex, where the tournament had been held in the past few years. The shift in venue was because of India hosting the BWF World Championships later this year in August, and the organisers wanted to use India Open as a trial event at IG Indoor Stadium.
#WATCH | Delhi | On allegations of poor conditions at the venue of the ongoing 2026 India Open Badminton Tournament, Sanjay Mishra, General Secretary, Badminton Association of India, says,” This event is a test event for us before the BWF World Championships. Everyone has… pic.twitter.com/EUJOsarMO5
— ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2026
“I’m happy with the court conditions but not the health conditions. 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,” the Denmark player had stated.
” This event is a test event for us before the BWF World Championships. Everyone has appreciated the wooden flooring and playing area here (Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium). There are no issues with accommodation or transport. Mia (Denmark’s shuttler Mia Blichfeldt) has some issues with dust and allergies; we can’t say anything about that. Players and coaches have appreciated the work BAI has put into this tournament,” Mishra said.
“Regarding complaints about the cold weather, we installed additional heaters and increased the number of heaters. We will talk to BWF about their requirements and will do everything. This way, World Championships will be organised well,” he added.
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