Off track: World-class dreams, sub-standard execution

Back in 2017, FIFA official Javier Ceppi made an interesting observation about India’s ‘jugaad’ culture. While serving as the tournament director for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, hosted across six venues, the polite Chilean appreciated Indians’ ability to get things done at the 11th hour with limited resources. However, he added that this approach was more of a problem than a solution, urging a ‘no jugaad’ policy during his stint in the country.

‘Jugaad’, however, is not going away from the Indian dictionary anytime soon — at least not from that of National Sports Federation (NSF) officials — as was evident in the shambolic hosting of the country’s premier badminton tournament, the India Open, by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) in New Delhi recently.

Even if one ignores the perennial concern of north India’s air pollution, several other glitches exposed India’s inability to pull off an event without issues. From bird droppings and a monkey among spectators to international players expressing concern over unhygienic conditions and a poor temperature control system at the Indira Gandhi Sports Arena in the national capital, the 2026 edition of the tournament left Indian sport red-faced — especially at a time when efforts are underway to land the hosting rights for the 2036 Olympics.

What is the point of building infrastructure worth several crores if you cannot maintain the facility?

Two Danish players flagged their concerns about the conditions at the India Open, even as Indian players, for obvious reasons, rallied behind the organisers. World No 3 Anders Antonsen chose to cough up a USD 5,000 fine rather than play in the Super 750 event, citing hazardous weather conditions.

“Many are curious why I’ve pulled out of the India Open for the third year. Due to the extreme pollution in Delhi at the moment, I don’t think it’s a place to host a badminton tournament,” Antonsen posted on his Instagram account.

His compatriot and women’s World No 13, Mia Blichfeldt, also highlighted the capital’s dangerous weather and poor practice facilities, before imploring the world badminton body to intervene to ensure better playing conditions when the venue hosts the World Championships, scheduled for August this year.

The media scrutiny, including from international outlets, was so stinging that the Sports Ministry asked the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to draw up a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to avoid a repeat of the slip-ups that marred the India Open.

That said, one should not ignore the good intentions of the BAI in shifting the tournament to the Indira Gandhi Sports Arena from its traditional venue, the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall, which is a stone’s throw away. While KD Jadhav Indoor Hall has successfully hosted the India Open for years, the BAI was keen on relocating as the Badminton World Federation (BWF) had previously flagged its limited seating capacity when the Indian federation expressed interest in hosting big-ticket events such as the World Championships and Sudirman Cup.

With an 8,000-plus seating capacity and four available courts, the IG Stadium appeared to be an ideal choice over other venues such as Siri Fort or the dilapidated Thyagaraj Stadium, both of which have hosted badminton events in the past. However, opting for a stadium built in 1982 and refurbished in 2010 for the Commonwealth Games — with a known history of leakage and other issues — turned the India Open into an avoidable fiasco. If one were to ask the badminton body, it is unwilling to shoulder the entire blame.

“It would be wrong to pin all the blame on BAI for what happened in Delhi,” a BAI official told DH on condition of anonymity. “We were handed the venue 10-11 days before the start of the tournament, while standard procedure is to hand it over to the local organising committee at least 20 days in advance. Especially for a facility as large as the IG Stadium, the window was too short.”

DH also reached out to the SAI, which admitted that the presence of birds in the upper altars of the stadium is a real issue, as large air vents and ducts in the four-decade-old facility make it difficult to prevent such entry. The government body maintained that it had done its due diligence before handing over the venue to the organisers.

“The venue was handed over in time to BAI for setting up the field of play, practice areas and other requirements,” an official said. “Routine cleaning and maintenance were carried out in advance."

“However, the presence of pigeons in the upper altars of the stadium premises is a real issue. With large openings such as air vents, ducts and shafts, it is a challenge to completely block their entry. Efforts are being made to seal vents and deploy nets wherever possible.

“More stringent SOPs are also being established to prevent future occurrences and ensure the successful hosting of such events.”

That said, BAI had an opportunity to test the venue instead of treating the India Open as one, by hosting the National Badminton Championships at the Indira Gandhi Sports Arena rather than in Vijayawada in the last week of December.

Such a practice is not unheard of. The Swimming Federation of India (SFI) hosted the water polo and diving National Championships at the newly built Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Ahmedabad last August, before staging the Asian Aquatics Championships at the same venue in September and October.

Speaking of the Asian Aquatics Championships, the tournament had some timing-related hiccups but, overall, did a commendable job of hosting the event for the first time. The city administration — and not the SFI — appeared determined to present a strong case for India’s ability to host major events, especially for a city slated to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games as part of its ambitious bid for the 2036 Olympics.

Ahmedabad had also successfully hosted the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships weeks earlier at the same venue, while simultaneously housing Indian aquatics teams for a national camp.

It would be incorrect to say that Ahmedabad alone is doing a good job of hosting international events. States such as Odisha have also fared well in hosting world-level hockey, table tennis and track and field events in recent years. In fact, Bhubaneswar is currently bidding to host both the Asian and World Indoor Athletics Championships in the same year, with inspections already conducted by World Athletics.

Multiple foreign athletes participating in the event spoke positively about the hospitality, with all teams accommodated in five-star hotels close to the venue.

Shoddy management

Unfortunately, these examples remain exceptions rather than the rule. Anyone who attends national-level competitions, including the Prime Minister’s flagship Khelo India events, is familiar with the shoddy management that often goes unnoticed due to the absence of television cameras.

Last December’s Boxing Nationals in Greater Noida was one such example that highlighted how Indian federations often manage to put on a good face for international events. While the Boxing World Cup Finals held weeks earlier passed without much fuss, glaring errors at the Nationals exposed the federation’s shortcomings, even with elite boxers competing and a new high-performance director in place.

From rings not being set up on time to boxers — including international medallists — being evicted from hostels before contesting final bouts, the Boxing Federation of India’s mismanagement was on full display after it failed to clear payments necessary to host the event.

“The event was close to the capital, which is why many journalists attended and everything came to light. Otherwise, this is how Nationals have been organised in the past as well, especially in second- or third-tier cities,” said a World Championships medallist, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Accommodation has been a problem for years, and even elite boxers are not spared. One also needs to look at the food served at venues. It’s not something any elite boxer would consume, as deep-fried items are routinely served. Young athletes come from diverse backgrounds and have no choice but to eat it. They are the pipeline of India’s boxing system.”

Athletes from other Olympic disciplines echoed similar concerns, pointing to disappointing infrastructure at several venues across states, barring a few exceptions.

“If you look beyond a couple of venues, standards are far below the international level almost everywhere,” said an Asian Games medallist. “Equipment is often outdated, tracks are wearing out, safety standards are not maintained, food is often not nutritious, hygiene is compromised... the list goes on. And yet, we are forced to compete at these national events, while our performances abroad are often ignored.”

Multiple roadblocks

Amid all this, it is hard to overlook the never-ending troubles of Indian football. The Indian Super League (ISL) continues to face one roadblock after another, with the fixture list for the much-troubled, truncated season yet to be released, despite efforts by the Sports Ministry to get the league back on track.

ISL clubs are also grappling with financial uncertainty, as the budget presented by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to run the league without its previous private partner has failed to inspire confidence. Stakeholders fear that cost overruns may now be passed on to them, prompting extreme — but necessary — measures such as player salary cuts.

This is a far cry from the days when ISL’s former commercial partners promised a bright future, including World Cup dreams, for the Indian football team, which entered the FIFA top 100 on merit during Igor Štimac’s tenure.

As a highly qualified coach, he stressed the players’ fitness to handle international challenges and frequently fought the league and federation for proper national high-performance camps, among other concerns.

Since Štimac's departure, his successors have lacked the authority and credentials to move the team forward, and India slipped to as low as world No 140.

Yet, those entrusted with Indian sport are unwilling to give up — not when efforts are underway to secure the hosting rights for the Olympics.

“Everyone is talking as if the Olympics are just a year away and we need to be ready immediately,” said an SAI official. “We still have 10 years. We will get there one step at a time. Every international tournament we host is a step towards becoming a sporting powerhouse, and every failure or success along the way is a lesson. As far as the upkeep of the venues are concerned, we are looking into various possibilities, including involvement of private players."

That said, India does not lack ambition; it lacks the required infrastructure, discipline and perhaps, the experience to consistently host big-ticket events.

One need not look any further than neighbouring China for examples. From being a non-participant for over two decades to becoming a medal powerhouse cannot be by chance. The country now runs a packed international sporting calendar with almost clinical efficiency.

They don't take their emphasis away from the domestic events either and the Chinese National Games are a prominent example. The quadrennial event sparks nationwide fan frenzy and serves as a high-stakes proving ground where both established stars and emerging athletes compete eagerly.

For India, however, its National Games in Uttarakhand last January faced logistical failures, while the ongoing Khelo India Winter Games in Leh are passing largely unnoticed.

Until systems replace ‘jugaad’, the Olympics may remain a dream sold in presentations, not one built on the ground.