Haven’t seen anything bad: Kidambi defends playing conditions
New Delhi
Former world No.1 Kidambi Srikanth on Wednesday defended the playing conditions at the ongoing India Open, asserting that he is yet to come across anything “bad” at the venue and that minor organisational challenges are not specific to one host nation.
Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt had on Tuesday caused a storm by criticising the conditions at the Indira Gandhi Stadium complex, calling the surroundings “unhealthy” and urging the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to intervene ahead of the World Championships later this year at the same venue.
Srikanth, who advanced to the second round with a hard-fought win over compatriot Tharun Mannepalli, said he did not understand the hue and cry.
“I don’t know, see every country has its own conditions,” said Srikanth, the 2021 world championships silver-medallist.
“In Singapore, there is a lot of drift. In Malaysia, probably a little less. Earlier in Indonesia, it used to be very compact and fast before renovation. Every country has its own challenge.”
Asked specifically about Blichfeldt’s comments, Srikanth said he had not seen her remarks in detail but the conditions at the venue were acceptable based on his own experience.
“See I frankly haven’t really read the note that she spoke. But I feel the conditions are fine. I didn’t really see anything bad that was happening,” he said, while recalling past disruptions on the international circuit. “In 2016 or 2017, I had to wait for about an hour in between my match in Denmark because the light went out,” he revealed.
The 32-year-old also cited an instance involving H S Prannoy, who had to complete a match over two days.
“Prannoy was just telling me, he had to play his match the following day. He played one set first day and then the second set on the following day,” he said. “So, these things do happen, just that nobody does it deliberately. Every country wants to do it really well. So, these things do happen very rarely, I don’t know why everyone’s complaining about it.” Blichfeldt had said that while the courts were satisfactory, the overall environment remained a concern.
“I am happy with the court conditions but not with the health conditions,” she said on Tuesday. The Badminton Association of India moved this year’s India Open Super 750 from the KD Jadhav Hall to the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium as a preparatory step for the World Championships, which India will host in August after 17 years.
France’s world No. 7 Christo Popov said there were some issues but stressed that adaptation was key.
“It is not the best conditions, but we are adapting. It is also a test event for organisers and players for the World Championships,” he said after reaching the second round, where he will face Srikanth.
