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Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth defended the playing conditions at the ongoing India Open 2026 in New Delhi, stating that he hasn't seen 'anything bad' at the venue yet and insisting that all host countries face minor organisational challenges. Srikanth's comments followed Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt's criticism of the 'unhygienic' playing conditions at the Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex, where the tournament is being held.
Blichfledt, who lashed out at the organisers over the unhygienic playing conditions at the KD Jadhav hall during the India Open last year, said nothing much has changed as she arrived in the country for the current edition of the tournament. Despite the tournament getting shifted to the Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex this year, the Denmark shuttler said she didn't find many improvements in the conditions.
Urging the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to intervene, Blichfeldt said the venue is 'not fit' to host the World Badminton Championships, which is scheduled to be played in Delhi later this year. After Blichfledt's comments, Srikanth spoke about the playing conditions at the venue and said he had yet to encounter anything bad.
"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," Srikanth told PTI, reacting to Blichfledt's criticism.
The former world no.1 recalled facing disruptions due to power cuts while playing the Denmark Open in Denmark. The Indian shuttler revealed his match was delayed for an hour due to a power shortage between games. Srikanth said fellow Indian shuttler HS Prannoy too faced similar issues during the tournament.
"In 2016 or 2017, I had to wait for about an hour in between my match in Denmark because the light went out," recalled Srikanth.
"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.
Defending the organisers, Srikanth said that such problems are encountered by all host nations and that no country wants the travelling players to face any trouble while playing.
"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," Srikanth added.
Sanjay Mishra, the secretary of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) responded to the criticism from Blichfeldt after the Denmark shuttler's comments went viral on social media on Tuesday. Mishra said BAI has provided heaters at the venue to help players warm up before matches due to the chilly cold in Delhi.
He also asserted that hygiene and cleanliness of the venue have been the priority for the BAI. Mishra said the association had received feedback from multiple players and that the narrative should not be formed on the basis of comments from a single player.
