BAI caught red-faced again as bird poop on court stops match twice at India Open

India Open continues to make headlines for all the wrong reason and controversies refuse to let go of the Super 750 tournament being held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.

The men’s singles second-round match between India’s world championship bronze medallist H S Prannoy and former world champion Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew had to be stopped twice after bird poop fell on ground midway through the clash.

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The match saw an interruption first during the opening game when the score was 16-14 in the Indian’s favour. The players moved little away from the court with awkward smiles on their faces as officials rushed to clean the playing area.

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The match resumed only for the players to move away again just as the third game began. The officials quickly cleaned the court again but the embarrassment deepened for the Badminton Authority of India.

Loh says pollution big issue

Despite winning the first game, Prannoy could not hold on to his lead and lost as Loh upped the intensity. Prannoy lost 21-18, 19-21, 14-21 to get knocked out of the second round. He revealed that indeed it was bird poop which interrupted the clash.

“It was bird shit that kind of halted the game,” Prannoy said in the mixed zone after his defeat.

Meanwhile, Loh, a former World Champion, said that pollution was an issue and that was affecting players.

“Everyone’s stamina just dropped like two levels. The weather is not good. My health dropped quite a bit. I breathe less. I wear my mask when I can. I stay indoors as much as possible, but that’s the only thing that I can do,” he said.

Controversies keep hitting India Open

The bird poop further adds to BAI’s headaches after controversies refuse to leave the tournament.

Earlier, Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt had, for a second year in a row, criticised the hygiene standards at the venue. She had called the arrangements “very dirty and really unhealthy conditions for all the players.”

After that another Danish star Anders Antonsen said that he had to pull out of the tournament due to severe pollution levels in Delhi. To add to the troubles, a monkey was spotted roaming in the stands while the matches were on.