BWF chief praises IG Sports Complex transformation ahead of World Championships

BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund has praised the rapid transformation of New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Sports Complex ahead of the World Championships. The venue faced criticism during the India Open earlier this year, but participating players have now provided overwhelmingly positive feedback

New Delhi: Badminton World Federation (BWF) secretary general Thomas Lund has praised the facilities and conditions at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex for the ongoing badminton World Championships, expressing satisfaction over the venue’s rapid transformation following earlier controversies.

Six months ago, during the BWF India Open Super 750, India’s premier badminton event, the venue was at the centre of controversies over the state of the playing and practice arenas and the pollution in New Delhi.

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One top-ranked player has stayed away from the tournament, citing these issues, and several others who participated have publicly criticised the cleanliness. Morever, a monkey was seen in the stands at the main arena while a men’s singles match between India’s HS Prannoy and Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew was halted twice after bird droppings fell onto court.

As the BWF World Championships returned to Indian shores after a gap of 17 years, the organisers left no stone unturned to avoid further controversies. They have put anti-bird measures in place and even roped in monkey whisperers to host the world-class event successfully.

“We’ve had a team here for quite a long time working hand in hand with the local organisation, with Badminton India, with all the stakeholders around it. I’m super impressed to see what has been established at this venue. I know there’s been some criticism earlier in the year, but the amount of things that have been done in that really short time in terms of upgrading, some of it was more significant – but I think I’m really impressed,” Lund told reporters.

“I thank Badminton India and all the stakeholders; the government and everybody have actually been behind this with the venue, with the operational detail that they’ve been able to get right for this tournament,” he said.

The BWF official noted that feedback from participating athletes, including those who had previously raised alarms, has been overwhelmingly positive.

“I’ve only heard really positive feedback from players and everybody that actually were here earlier in the year and had different concerns and so on, and obviously, well done to our organisation here.

With the tournament entering its critical stages, the BWF secretary general urged fans and media to direct their focus back to the action on the court, praising the high quality and unpredictable nature of the matches played so far.

“We are very satisfied with where we are today and I’ll just hope from here on and on to the finals the focus will be on what happens on that court down there because we’ve had fantastic matches. I’ve talked to some of our commentators.

“I haven’t been able to see all the matches, but some of the matches and even matches that you predicted were kind of not close matches; one side has come out as being super interesting matches, and there are some nice surprises and so I think let’s focus on that because I think the other terms, the other things around the framework we’re working in here, the Indian organisation have done really, really well,” he said.