As hosts to badminton’s World Championships, from August 17 to 23, Delhi will let go of its staple long-grained rice. Instead, rice will be simmered with ginger, garlic and chicken broth into a hearty, starchy porridge, to cater to the East Asian palate of the shuttle stars trooping into the Indian capital. The hearty serving of kanji, called congee or zhou across Southeast Asia, is front and centre of buffets at hotels hosting the sport’s biggest names from the Far East.
Dining menus aren’t the only thing being adjusted. Even minute details like room lighting have been considered, and bulk orders of ice are expected to shoot up, as recovery protocols like ice baths become common. With post-midnight arrivals, the best welcome is a quiet, efficient check-in and guiding players to their rooms without fuss, the hotels maintained.
“We will have a prominent noodle bar, of course,” says Le Meridien director of food and beverages Vineet Wadhera, who is hosting over 200 athletes and support staff at the CP hotel, while an equal number are camped at the Shangri-La right across, as the Worlds get underway at Indira Gandhi Stadium on Monday. “We will also serve kanji, miso soup, veg tofu preparations and chicken and fish prepared the Asian way of flavouring,” Wadhera added. More carbs, in the form of kanji, are a must when shuttlers are in town, he stresses.
His head chef, associate director Karan Mehta, though, is expecting shuttlers to give in to the irresistible butter chicken and naan eventually, even if they play it safe with spice in the early days. Moderating spice levels also means the popular masala dosai (a favourite of Malaysian former world champion Aaron Chia, who converted others to it) is prepared with less chilli in the potato masala. “Our base spice is at a standard level anyway, but we have found athletes asking over and over again for butter chicken,” Mehta says.
A few more imported cheeses, and gluten-free and sourdough breads, get added with the French and Danish squads, among other Europeans, camped out there too. “They need their salamis and meat cuts,” Mehta says. Though not as popular as their boba bubble teas, Asian shuttlers have been known to get accustomed to sipping on chhaanch, lassi and nimbu paani when they are in Delhi.
Millet khichdi and quinoa upma are also getting popular, thanks to the “healthy” tag.
With early training sessions from as early as 6.30 am, and morning matches, hotels are ready with breakfast takeaways from 5 am. Shuttlers’ hotel rooms are also served assorted shuttle-shaped mithai and savoury platters. A badminton-themed cocktail menu, with names such as Smaah Bucket with 5 beers, 4th Serve, Court Cooler and Happy Rally, has been set up in the Meridien bar.
A giant revolving shuttlecock installation is prominently displayed in the lobby. At the Shangri-La, where a batch of Chinese and Japanese athletes are camped, badminton stays on the big-screen TVs, tuned into the happenings at Indira Gandhi Stadium.
A lot of teams have arrived with their own ice tubs, for the recovery baths that help them go from one match to the next on back-to-back days and cure muscle soreness.
“There are bulk orders for ice and a standard rate card applied,” a hotel staffer said.
At the stadium, the visuals going out to the world are of miniature India Gates in a golden hue, from where the players might make their entrance, and intricately hued elephants raising their trunks in welcome. Travel desks have supersized racquets hanging from the back walls of their stalls, marking it out as the “Badminton World Cup” zone, as one staffer calls the Championships.
There are quieter tones to the hospitality too. “They are arriving late at night, and most of them are tired and just want to crash. We don’t want to trouble them a lot. So a traditional teeka-garland welcome at that time makes no sense. Ensuring they are smoothly checked in is the best welcome,” says Meridien marketing manager Mohini Dewalla.
Expedited laundry tends to be an underrated service for athletes. Pitch-dark rooms are something athletes tend to request, since sleep is sacrosanct for them as recovery. “Some of them don’t like to be on higher floors, due to fear of heights. Some want to be far away from traffic sounds, so we allot rooms keeping that in mind,” says Sanath Kakkar, experiences manager. Guests are directed to Janpath for shopping queries, though the first three or four days will tend to be a stadium-to-hotel commute with little else in between. “We want to show support for India at the Worlds. It’s our country’s biggest event in badminton in years. It’s a high-stress tournament, so the hotel should feel comforting, like home,” he adds.
The hotel managers have their Indian favourites, from the legendary Prakash Padukone to a humble, no-demands Saina Nehwal and a feisty Lakshya Sen. They will also tune in to watch newer stars: Satwik-Chirag, Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda. The hotels will take care of the warmth and hospitality. The players, through their smash attacks, get to handle the hostility.
In the recently announced BWF calendar for 2027 and 2028, India Open is scheduled from February 2 to 7 in 2027 and from January 25 to 30 in 2028. (FILE photo) 
Share
