The India Open (badminton) has been an annual pilgrimage for my daughter and me, for the last 4 years. Perhaps many of you have heard of the furore over the conditions at the venue this year and the past. The walk up to the venues each year is what gets me – derelict and shuttered for the most part. Walking past a velodrome that shows no sign that it is ever used – the sport that perhaps singlehandedly made sense for the London 2012 hosting decision (team GB killed it). We are bidding for the 2036 Olympics – FWIW. The badminton venue moved from the KD Jadhav stadium to the other IG Indoor Arena. Slightly better venue with decent seats for spectators but India (or at least Delhi) is no sporting territory. Only a third of the seats or maybe half were full. Even with this footfall, the toilets were overwhelmed. The men’s urinal was a sight but thankfully the winter cold meant, the olfactory senses weren’t in for that ammoniacal treat toilets in India offer up. For the most part, everyone pays a decent price to get in and yet get this. India really needs to overhaul our experience with public toilets.
For the game itself – the lighting for the court was patchy (literally) and I was wondering how it might affect the players with the shadow spots on the court ! And anyone who reads my posts know, the only thing I ever write about these days is on AQ because that is THE public health emergency that we all must take more seriously than any other. Starting from 12 noon to about 530 pm, the PM2.5 levels held up at well above 400 mu.g/m3. That is staggeringly high but yet we managed to subject the generational talent and the most dominant player in recent years – An Se Young , to these high levels. She came and conquered for a third title here. So many of our young badminton players from the northern region were there to witness the finals – no masks, and screaming for their favourite players and countries with all that their little lungs were able to muster, while breathing in the poison that is Delhi’s air.
