India Open badminton: Bird droppings falling on court halts match between HS Prannoy and Loh Kean Yew twice

In the first game, when Prannoy was leading 16-14, the game was halted as the umpire called the tournament official to remove something from the court. An official then cleaned the spot with tissues and wipes. The same incident happened in the third game when Prannoy was leading 1-0. In a close battle against the former world champion, Prannoy eventually lost 21-18, 19-21, 14-21.

ALSO READ | ‘Don’t know why everyone’s complaining about it’: Kidambi Srikanth on India Open playing conditions

The incident continues the trend at this year’s India Open of problems away from the badminton action. On Tuesday, Danish shuttler Mia Blichfeldt said that she was unhappy with ‘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,” she had said. In response to her comments, the Badminton Association of India had said there were no issues at the playing arena, which is the IG Indoor Stadium, and the shuttler was referring to the training arena, which is KD Jadhav Indoor hall.

“Regarding the warm-up area, it is important to note that she was referring to the KD Jadhav Stadium, which serves as the training venue, and not the main playing arena,” BAI General Secretary Sanjay Mishra had said. “The playing arena has been kept clean, dirt-free and pigeon-free, and several players have expressed satisfaction with the conditions at the venue.”

Danish men’s singles shuttler Anders Antonsen had also criticised the India Open for being held in Delhi in January in ‘extreme pollution’ , citing that as the reason for his withdrawal.

Then on Wednesday, a monkey was sighted in the stands inside the playing arena. On Instagram stories posted by photographer Azlynna Dev, a monkey was seen sitting in stands. Security officials at the venue later confirmed to The Indian Express that the monkey was inside “It was there for 10 minutes and once we received a complaint, we removed it promptly,” an official had said. Korean men’s doubles player Kang Min Hyuk also posted a video of a monkey at the KD Jadhav Indoor hall, the designated training venue in the same complex.

In response to criticism from Blichfeldt and Antonsen, BWF had told this newspaper on Wednesday that ‘a comprehensive review of all tournament facilities and operational processes is currently underway.’

“BAI and the venue staff have been working at the stadium continuously for the last 20 days, and this is the first time such an incident has been observed. It is unfortunate, and it is possible that a door may have been inadvertently left open,” BAI said in their statement regarding the monkey incident.