Explainer: Toxic fumes, dilapidated venues, lack of hygiene put a question mark on Delhi as a venue for top events

THE toxic air quality has once again put a question mark on New Delhi as a host city for both national and international sports tournaments. For a city that routinely gets affected in winters as the AQI shoots to dangerous levels, schools get shut and are run on hybrid/online mode, exposing the athletes to toxic air hit a raw nerve.

The world’s best badminton stars showed up to participate in the Yonex-Sunrise India Open tournament last week. Yet, the air quality, dilapidated conditions of the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium and a general lack of hygiene in and around brought the uncomfortable but an open secret out in the public.

Indian shuttler HS Prannoy and Danish stars Mia Blichfelt and World No. 3 Anders Antonsen, who incidentally pulled out of the tournament for a third straight year due to toxic fumes, all stated the obvious.

Prannoy was criticised after he spilled the beans on bird droppings during his second-round loss against Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew. The match was twice interrupted, where the cleaning staff had to wipe the floor.

Stray dogs and two critical social media posts from Blichfelt and Antonsen woke up all the agencies, including the sports ministry officials, from deep slumber.

A senior official was deputed to take stock of the conditions of the gymnastics centre of the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, which is to host the World Badminton Championships in August.

A day earlier, a monkey was spotted in the spectators’ gallery.

Disaster from the start

A delegation of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and the Badminton Association of India (BAI) had made at least two visits before the start of the tournament. The local authority in this case, the Sports Authority of India (SAI), was intimated that the stadium needs repairs, especially the washrooms and seepages in many areas. An assurance was given, but very little work was done.

A day before the tournament, a false ceiling came down and sewage water spilled inside the media enclosure and outside. Last-minute repairs spared them further blushes.

Interestingly, on the day the semi-finals were being held, a delegation was in a different part of the city to check a venue as a viable option if the stadium is not ready for the World Championships. There is another worry that the roof may leak during August when Delhi receives rain.

In 2017, a similar scenario played out during the Asia Track Cycling Championships when the roof at the velodrome inside Indira Gandhi Complex leaked after a heavy bout of rains. This begs a question, is Delhi a city for sports at all?

“This stadium is over 40 years old and needs a major revamp. All the electrical and water connections have some sort of damage. SAI and the officials have a lot to explain,” a federation official said.

The other show must go on

The same stadium and others in Delhi, including the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, have seen less number of sporting events being hosted. Last year, the Diljit Dosanjh concert drew criticism from athletes after they found empty beer bottles littered near the track, garbage scattered and training equipment dumped in a corner.

The stadium was refurbished and a new Mondo track worth crores was installed in the stadium for the World Para Athletics Championships in October. Ironically, the stadium was shut for training after the tournament and its practice area was only reopened in December.

“Preparations are underway for a Satinder Sartaaj concert here in the stadium. The officials are only interested in concerts and not one of them is concerned about whether an athlete’s training gets affected or not,” said a middle-distance runner who trains there.