Another day, another shame: Falling bird’s nest debris stops India Open semi-final | Badminton News – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: The India Open Super 750 is no longer a celebration of world-class badminton. Instead, it has become a daily case study in administrative failure. Not a single day of the major BWF World Tour event at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium has passed without controversy. On Saturday the tournament plummeted to a new low when a women’s doubles semi-final had to be abandoned after particles and twigs from a bird’s nest fell between the points on the court – an episode that summed up the bizarre, avoidable and embarrassing problems that have come to define this year’s competition.

The incident took place on Court No. 1 during the semi-final match between top-seeded Chinese duo Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning and sixth-seeded South Korean duo Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee. As Liu prepared to serve at 6-3 in the opening match, debris fell from above onto the playing surface. Liu burst out laughing and pointed at the chair umpire, looking more incredulous than amused. The Chinese pair walked to their seats, visibly perplexed and concerned. Lee also looked at the roof in bewilderment, trying to understand how a Super 750 tournament had turned into a farce. The chair umpire called for sweepers to clear the field. The clean-up operation took several minutes. Officials later confirmed that the particles were indeed material from a bird’s nest. They were picked up and thrown out and play eventually resumed. “That a semi-final of a premier BWF event could be interrupted by falling litter would be comical if it were not so devastating,” a former Indian shuttler told TOI. “More troubling is that this was not an isolated accident but, as people have come to realize in recent days, part of a recurring pattern.” Just two days earlier, the pre-quarter-final match between HS Prannoy and Loh Kean Yew was stopped twice after bird droppings fell on the pitch. That incident led to widespread criticism of the playing conditions and raised serious questions about the basic readiness of the venue. The warning signs were clear even before the tournament gained momentum. Danish shuttler Mia Blichfeldt complained about ‘dirty’ and ‘unsanitary’ conditions in the arena. She later posted a photo on Instagram, emphatically questioning whether the location was suitable to host the World Championships later this year. Another Danish shuttler world number 3, Anders Antonsen, joined the chorus by questioning pollution levels in the city and whether it was worth hosting a Super 750 tournament in such conditions. “Bird-related disturbances are particularly indefensible. Indoor badminton arenas are supposed to be controlled environments. The presence of nests in the stadium is not an act of nature beyond human control; it is evidence of neglected infrastructure and lax maintenance,” said an ex-Indian player. “Such problems do not arise overnight. They are the product of months, if not years, of failed oversight.”